Drone Delivery

The city of Pea Ridge, Arkansas, has unanimously approved Walmart to begin delivery of health and wellness products using Zipline’s delivery drones. The two partnered last year but have been waiting for the go-ahead for the last few months.

Residents on the Scottish Isle of Mull will soon be consulted to see if they would be open to delivery drones flying in the sky. A drone trial is also expected to take place in the new year after a parcel was flown from the mainland to the island earlier this month.

ZM Interactive (ZMI) has announced its new range of xFold drones with flight times of eight hours and a payload capacity of 1,000 pounds. The new drones can switch between x4 (quad), x6 (hexa), X8 (octo), and X12 (dodeca) configurations in minutes.

Korean drone company PABLO AIR completed its first simultaneous drone delivery over a 50-mile circular flight late last month. The drones delivered emergency medicines and everyday items from mainland Korea to nearby islands.

An architecture firm in Canberra, Australia, has created digital renderings of an upcoming development, including drone delivery areas for residents to safely collect their parcels. JUDD Studio has created the futuristic design for the upcoming 152-unit East Garden Apartments.

Vodafone and Ericsson have hit a milestone with their network-backed drone delivery service after completing successful test flights in Germany. The testing was completed at Vodafone’s innovation center in Aldenhoven, Germany.

Amazon has let go of some of its research and development and manufacturing employees for its drone delivery service in favor of outsourcing. The company has already signed two deals with companies to manufacture some of the parts used in the custom delivery drones.

Japan Airlines (JAL) has turned to delivery drones to transport emergency supplies to a hard-to-reach city in a mountainous area of western Japan. The flight which took place on Wednesday is a test for future permanent drone deliveries in the region.

Drone Delivery Canada (DDC) has shared an update on its Robin XL delivery drone testing, with numerous critical aspects being successfully tested. All the testing was completed with the approval of Transport Canada at a rural location.

Matternet has launched its drone delivery program in Berlin, Germany, to deliver medical samples between hospitals, with permanent flights expected to occur in the new year. Matternet will be working with German company Labor Berlin to speed up its sample delivery network.

Thales Group has completed the preliminary design review for the Vantis statewide BVLOS network being built in North Dakota. The milestone means Thales can now begin integrating surveillance systems and communications infrastructure into the great McKenzie county area for future drone deliveries.

Volansi is expanding its capacity for middle-mile drone delivery services with a new facility in Oregon’s Bend area. This location, says a news release, “will support the company’s expansion as it develops, produces, and tests its next generation of industry-defining delivery aircraft.”

Singaporean drone delivery company F-drones has just hit 100 autonomous test flights with its proprietary drone platform. The 100th test flight happened to be the same flight that saw its delivery drone complete the first commercial night-time drone delivery.

Over the next few months, medical delivery drones will take flight in the Netherlands between two hospitals to deliver emergency medicines, blood, and other time-sensitive samples. The drones will be flying between the Isala Diaconessenhuis Meppel hospital and the Isala Ziekenhuis hospital.

An infantry unit in the U.S. Army‘s XVIII Airborne Corps will be testing out drone supply drops for the first time in tests that will take place next year. The exact unit receiving the unmanned drops is unknown, likely to keep the soldiers’ and drones’ security intact.

Drone Delivery Canada has announced two new board members and new hires to solidify its presence in the commercial drone world. The company has welcomed five new additions with a wide variety of industry knowledge and experience.

At the beginning of this month, the world’s first commercial nighttime drone delivery took place at the Port of Singapore to a nearby vessel. The drone was used to deliver a critical part to the Berge Sarstein bulk carrier about five kilometers or three miles off-shore.

FirePoint hopes to bridge the gap between drone developers and Department of Defense (DoD) programs with its air cargo industry day. The industry day will allow drone companies to network with one another and gain insight into partnering with the Department of Defense.

Volansi has launched its commercial drone delivery program in rural North Carolina by delivering cold chain medicine to the Vidant Healthplex in Wilson from the Merck manufacturing facility. The delivery drones will allow for rapid and flexible delivery of temperature-sensitive medicines to be delivered to patients.

Reliable Robotics, which is best known for converting Cessnas into autonomous drones, has partnered with fresh produce company Guimarra to help solve supply chain issues in the fresh produce industry by delivering with its autonomous Cessna drones.

A2Z has launched its RDS1 delivery drone system with a focus on safety and privacy concerns associated with drone deliveries. The delivery mechanism is based on DJI’s Matrice 600 Pro platform via the built-in railing system.