Drone Delivery

Walmart is commercializing its delivery platform to allow small-town shops to arrange local deliveries with the retail giant. The just-announced Walmart GoLocal platform will see the retailer offer its existing network of drones, autonomous vehicles, and market fulfillment centers to businesses across the United States.

London-based advanced air mobility (AAM) specialist Skyports is broadening its COVID-fighting medical services partnership with Australian logistics company Swoop Aero to establish drone delivery networks across Europe and the Americas. 

DHL, the first parcel service provider in the world to directly integrate a drone logistically into its delivery chain, has reportedly discontinued the Parcelcopter project. The last prototype that the company developed for consumer drone deliveries was in 2018. And now, DHL has confirmed to news reporters in Germany that it no longer intends to continue testing Parcelcopter or manufacture its own drones.

DHL, the world’s leading logistics service provider, has taken another step toward its goal of reaching emission neutrality by 2050. This week its DHL Express unit announced it has begun assembly of an electric freight network with the acquisition of 12 battery-powered aircraft from Seattle-based Eviation.

A leading US air medical service provider – think helicopter transport of patients between hospitals or directly from the scene of an incident – has announced ambitious plans to enter the uncrewed space. Air Methods will partner with Wingcopter on a drone health delivery solution it calls “Spright.” A news release says the new network will serve the entire United States, using fleets of Wingcopter drones.

There’s a lot of talk these days about drone delivery. But there’s one kind of delivery that continues to pose a problem: Using a drone to drop contraband into a prison.

Amazon’s drone delivery program, Prime Air, is shuttering part of its operations in the United Kingdom, a new Wired report reveals. The company has already fired more than 100 employees in the UK, while many others are being transferred abroad.

Volansi, one of the leading companies in autonomous, point-to-point deliveries using fixed-wing Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOL) drones, is today announcing a huge milestone: It completed the first-ever autonomous drone delivery between two ships.

Drone deliveries can save time, money, and even – as Zipline has proven repeatedly – save lives. Now, FlytBase, a drone automation platform, has announced the imminent launch of FlytZip, an on-demand, last-mile drone delivery software platform.

Drone Delivery Canada (DDC) has become the first publicly traded drone delivery company to be granted a domestic cargo license under the Canada Transportation Act and Air Transport Regulations (Canada). This license, normally issued to airlines that provide passenger or cargo services, is a critical achievement for DDC.

Residents and visitors of Ocracoke Island prize the calm and seclusion its remoteness affords. Yet that distance from off North Carolina’s coast also makes getting supplies to locals facing emergency extreme weather difficult – a problem drones may help Ocracoke solve.

An estimated 10 million HIV patients around the world are unable to access life-saving medications. Often, it’s because they are located in areas so remote that ferrying the drugs becomes an extremely slow and time-consuming process. Johnson & Johnson wants to change that. That’s why the company is funding a drone program in Uganda, East Africa, to deliver HIV treatments.

Ah, what people won’t do to help addicts get their fix – including flying a drone to transport banned substances to the chemically addled in confinement.

Global logistics giant DHL says it’s expanding its drone activities with middle-mile uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) deliveries. First flights of the same-day service are expected later this year.

Maybe you’ve wondered where Amazon will find drones powerful enough for a return trip from the warehouse to your house. Amazon apparently shares your sense of wonder. A new patent suggests the company recognizes a serious limitation with Amazon drone delivery.

A resort-style residential community in Ontario, California, has begun testing package deliveries via drones. At the first delivery from the skies today, a drone delivered ribbon-cutting scissors and microbrew beverages to the Ontario mayor, thus commemorating the opening of a marketplace at the New Haven master-planned development. Drone technology companies Airspace Link and DroneUp made the project possible.

Amazon’s Prime Air program hopes to deliver packages to its many customers fast — but just don’t expect it anytime soon. Business Insider reports internal conflict, high turnover, and launch delays have put the drone delivery program in upheaval.

Does owning a personal drone delivery mailbox sound like a far-fetched dream to you? Valqari, a drone delivery solutions company, is working to make this dream a reality for hundreds of families this year. And that too for just under $1,500. Here are the deets…

The world’s leading drone delivery specialist, Zipline, has announced a capital infusion of $250 million, which it will use to expand its booming activities in Africa and the US. The investment increases the total funds Zipline has raised to $486 million, and values the instant logistics company at $2.75 billion.

German freight forwarding heavyweight Hellmann Worldwide Logistics has announced it will start using drones for deliveries across Europe in 2022. The move is seen in large part as a workaround solution to the major and continuing disruptions in traditional supply chains created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

It’s rare to catch a clear, simple glimpse of how increased drone use could benefit a society. Now a vivid example has surfaced: The state of Ohio is set to rake in over $13 billion by 2046 from advanced air mobility (AAM) services alone if it starts planning for that activity now.