Toronto-based drone logistics firm Drone Delivery Canada has unveiled the next generation of its Sparrow aircraft. The company says the new drone, which will be commercialized as the Canary, has already passed its first tests successfully.
While the exact numbers will be determined by future testing, the Canary by Drone Delivery Canada is expected to have a range of approximately 20 km and a cargo capacity of 4.5 kg. This aircraft is being equipped with a new motor configuration, next-generation smart battery technology, touchless cargo-drop functionality, a future optional public announcement system, and an optional aircraft parachute.
Drone Delivery Canada says these new functionalities will unlock potential customer use-cases and facilitate flights over people to open new, commercially addressable future markets in urban and residential areas for both B2B and B2C retail residential deliveries.
Also read: Zipline to bring backyard drone deliveries to Salt Lake City
Meanwhile, the tests Canary has already passed include avionics system configuration, communications with the FLYTE software system, communications with the next-generation smart battery system, propulsion system (motor spin/direction) testing, and on-board sensor testing.
Michael Zahra, president and CEO of Drone Delivery Canada, says in a statement:
Canary’s new functionality, especially the aircraft parachute, unlocks potential future use cases that are currently challenging to address – like flights over people, plus urban and residential deliveries. Being able to address these applications with our award-winning solution is on our strategic roadmap and is expected to open up potentially significant and currently underserved markets.
In the meantime, the current version of Sparrow will continue to operate commercially at customer projects, while also being available to future customers. The company is also looking to complete the commercialization of the previously announced Robin XL aircraft, depending on market demands.
Drone Delivery Canada is also working toward the development of ground-based and airborne detect-and-avoid systems, which are expected to open new commercially viable uses cases and BVLOS operations even further while reducing operational costs.
Read more: Amazon’s French drone delivery R&D center has been disbanded: report
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Comments