Drone Delivery

’Tis the season to use creative narratives to celebrate togetherness and highlight the need for kindness on Christmas. And hitting the sweet spot for us right now is a holiday campaign from supermarket brand Migros, featuring the world’s most adorable delivery drone – Robin.

In a deal with Ivory Coast’s government, Instant Logistics specialist Zipline is broadening its activities in Africa to operate drone deliveries of medical supplies throughout the large West African nation.

In a run-up to its upcoming Series B round, German drone delivery startup Wingcopter has received funding from Drone Fund, a Japan-based venture capital firm dedicated exclusively to investments within the drone technology ecosystem.

The city of Valencia is preparing to create a “drone highway” for initial services like the delivery of medicines, and eventually open those up to human transport like air taxis.

In an effort to further maximize prevailing “parts when they’re needed” logistics management of factories, Spanish car manufacturer SEAT is testing drones to make deliveries of components to, and around, its assembly lines.

Amazon may have been teasing us with promises of aerial deliveries since 2013, but it’s retail giant Walmart that’s proving that being the first to announce a program doesn’t necessarily guarantee an industry leader spot. Teaming up with Virginia-based drone startup DroneUp, Walmart has begun commercial drone delivery services in northwestern Arkansas this week.

On-demand drone delivery service Flytrex has raised a $40 million Series C funding round to ramp up expansion throughout the US suburbs and advance partnerships with leading retailers and quick-service restaurants.

Integrated drone services company Volatus says it is teaming up with uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) producer Avidrone Aerospace to offer clients autonomous cargo drone delivery services in markets around the world.

On-demand residential drone delivery service Wing is bringing Christmas magic directly to Australia’s driveways and backyards this holiday season. Starting today, customers who live in Wing’s service areas in Canberra and Logan will be able to order a free “The Elf on the Shelf” plush toy and have it delivered to their home by a drone within minutes. And that’s not even the best part.

Just over a year after the pair decided to explore drone delivery services together, retail giant Walmart and instant logistics specialist Zipline are launching those air drops of health and wellness products to customers in the area around Pea Ridge, Arkansas. 

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.

In May 2017, Amazon announced the opening of a new Prime Air Development Center in Clichy, France, to boost research and development into its drone delivery program. Today, the dozen-strong team focusing on drone navigation stands reassigned to new roles.

Medical drone delivery specialist Zipline is finally ready to expand operations in its home country. The company is looking at a spring 2022 timeline to begin supplying medicine and healthcare equipment to homes in Salt Lake City, Utah.

For the first time ever, Wing, a subsidiary of Google’s parent company Alphabet, has allowed a video crew to step inside its test facilities. Hop on to see how Wing’s engineers and aircraft designers have developed delivery drone and navigation systems that are actually delivering coffee, roast chickens, Tylenol, and more in different parts of the world today.

As far as UAV flights go, this one supremely qualifies as beyond visual line of sight. Last month, Swedish specialized drone services company Everdrone successfully controlled the delivery of an automated external defibrillator (AED) from a distance of 800 kilometers away – and an entirely different country.

Automated middle-mile cargo drone manufacturer and service company Dronamics has announced it has chosen the island of Malta as the initial European operational base for its automated uncrewed delivery business. 

US-based regional airline Mesa Air Group has decided to venture into the last-mile food delivery business, using drones. With the initial pilot program planned for Nevada, the airline wants to expand its drone delivery service across the US, followed by New Zealand.

The gigantic wholesale fresh food market serving the Paris region has gotten a taste of its tech future, thanks to a series of drone flights testing the viability of last-mile produce deliveries around the massive facility.

Germany-based urban air mobility solutions (UAM) company Volocopter has successfully completed the first public flight demonstration of its electric heavy-lift drone, VoloDrone. The three-minute test flight was planned in collaboration with logistics company DB Schenker to showcase how delivery drones can be integrated into the logistics supply chain for end-to-end cargo transport.

Almost 38 years ago, the world’s first successful lung transplant was performed at Canada’s Toronto General Hospital. Now, that same hospital has become part of a new chapter in medical history by receiving the world’s first set of lungs to be delivered via a drone.

Valqari has secured a patent in the US for its drone landing pad that can be mounted outside a window. The Chicago-based startup says this device would allow those living in high rises to send and receive packages easily via drones. At the same time, a window-mounted drone delivery station would also help to fend off package theft.