Drone Delivery

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.

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.