Drone Delivery

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.

After the termination of a previous manufacturing agreement, Chicago-based Valqari has now chosen Canadian drone maker Draganfly as the exclusive manufacturer of its patented drone delivery stations. As per the terms of this agreement, Valqari will order at least $400,000 worth of manufacturing services from Draganfly.

The UK has announced moves toward drone deliveries of transplant organs and vital medicines like vaccines being flown around the country. The steps in preparing the transportation of critical supplies to patients puts the country at the forefront of nations considering deploying the craft for urgent medical services.

The state of Telangana in India is beginning trial runs for the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines, medicines, and other healthcare items using drones from today. For this “Medicine from the Sky” project, logistics company Blue Dart has teamed up with drone delivery startup Skye Air Mobility and UK-based Unified Traffic Management (UTM) technology platform Altitude Angel.

Drone logistics company Swoop Aero and drone safety technology firm Iris Automation are joining forces to offer safety-focused beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drone delivery solutions to clients across the globe.

A2Z Drone Delivery has built an aircraft around its patented tethered freefall aerial delivery mechanism. The result is the RDSX commercial delivery drone, whose dual payload and elevated package drop system allow companies to increase mission efficiency while responding to consumer concerns about noise or privacy.

When Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine first came out, it needed to be stored at minus 70 degrees Celsius – a temperature colder than the winter in Antarctica. But with the US Food and Drug Administration relaxing the temperature mandates for transportation and storage of undiluted vials, a new opportunity has opened up for delivery drones. And it’s an opportunity that delivery solutions company UPS is looking to leverage with the help of special cold chain packaging, developed specifically for drones.

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.