Drone Delivery

DroneUp, the drone delivery company that Walmart uses, has announced a major push to make beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drone flights safer. DroneUp has partnered with Iris Automation, a developer of AI-based vision technology for crewed and uncrewed aircraft to prevent airborne collisions. Together, these firms will install hardware nodes that will act like a cellular tower-type service providing DroneUp with visibility of its airspace.

Leading instant logistics specialist Zipline isn’t just turning heads with its increasingly innovative drone delivery activity around the globe, but it is now also causing jaws to drop with fundraising effectiveness that has reportedly almost doubled its valuation to $4.2 billion.

Commercial drone solutions specialist A2Z Drone Delivery has developed a long-range hybrid VTOL aircraft that can carry 11 lbs (5 kg) payloads over a distance of 24.8 miles (40 km). According to A2Z, the operating cost of its new flagship RDSX Pelican delivery drone is as little as 13 cents per kg per km. 

A trial program overseen by the UK’s Skyports Drone Services in Scotland is in the running for a national award for its efforts in pioneering UAV transport of meals to remote Highland schools.

Leading drone delivery company Wing is pushing ahead with plans to considerably scale its aerial activity through intensified testing of its craft in the kinds of challenging weather conditions the entire sector will have to overcome if it’s to become a true challenger to legacy road transportation.

The delivery division of UK drone services and advanced air mobility infrastructure company Skyports has been selected to operate aerial distribution routes between Scotland’s Orkney islands for the national postal company, Royal Mail.

Drone manufacturing and transport company SkyDrop has taken major steps closer to launching New Zealand’s first aerial food delivery service, receiving regulatory approvals from the nation’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

Automated drone company Flyby has announced a pair of significant developments in its business expansion plans, with a launch of aerial food delivery activities coinciding with a $4 million infusion of seed financing.

Healthcare provider Michigan Medicine says it plans to more than double the number of prescriptions its in-house pharmacy fills each year by using the new quick drone delivery system Zipline revealed last month.

California-based drone delivery company Matternet says it has received a waiver from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that allows it to operate up to 20 aircraft with one remote pilot.

Fast-moving drone delivery startup Flytrex had an eventful 2022, during which it considerably expanded its zones of operation as well as its list of retailers and restaurant partners. Today the company released its annual barometer of activity showing a corresponding jump in clients served last year – a whopping seven-fold increase over 2021 to “21,350 orders” flown.

Japan Post is moving quickly with its plans to introduce mail drone delivery services in the country, and has staged its maiden parcel drop to a private home following the company’s first flight over a populated area.

Toronto-based Drone Delivery Canada announced the first sale of its Condor heavy-lift UAV in a deal with the government’s Transport Canada agency.

Leading US drone delivery company DroneUp is partnering with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in a program intended to encourage and assist students pursuing studies and careers in UAV activities.

Manna, a drone delivery startup with Irish roots, is expanding to the US market with strategic investment from Coca-Cola HBC, the bottling partner of The Coca-Cola Company. Manna says it has partnered with multinational real estate development company Hillwood to initially serve 10,000 residents in Texas’ Dallas-Ft. Worth area.

World-leading instant logistics and drone delivery company Zipline has unveiled a major revision of its commercial transport network, featuring an entirely reconceived transport UAV and an equally autonomous payload droid that – once lowered to client destinations by a winch – can guide itself to an area for unloading as small as a patio table or steps up to a house.

The government of South Korea is launching a project to create a smart logistics infrastructure network designed to slash the time between customer orders and their delivery by drones and robotic vehicles to under an hour.

Europe’s first licensed drone delivery airline, Dronamics, said it has raised $40 million in pre-Series A funding for the launch of its innovative strategy of providing middle-mile aerial transport services in a sector that has largely focused on last-mile activities.

Logistics and transportation company Aramex says it has successfully tested drone and roadside bot deliveries in Dubai. These tests were conducted as part of the company’s “Future Delivery Program,” aimed at enhancing last-mile logistics using smart shipping solutions to enable quicker, more sustainable, and cost-effective deliveries.

Drone company Volatus Aerospace has been issued a drone cargo license by the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA).

Despite recurring announcements with significant fanfare at various stages of the service’s very long awaited rollout, it appears Amazon drones aren’t actually delivering much – or often ­­– in the two communities where they were finally put into operation last December.