Ireland

Something is happening in neighborhoods of northwest Dublin that’s exciting residents – and it isn’t Ireland’s dominating performances in the ongoing Six Nations’ rugby tournament (or not only, anyway). Instead, people have been uploading videos of what could be the start of a long awaited move by Irish startup Manna Drone Delivery to roll out and scale regular services in the Irish capital.

Recurring drone disruptions – and the political and business fallout produced by them – that plagued Dublin Airport earlier this year may now be drawing to a close, thanks to clearance from Irish regulators for the platform to begin using counter-UAV assets to deal with the invasive craft.

Google’s corporate drone delivery cousin Wing is continuing to expand its international network with the planned launch of medical services in Dublin – a somewhat unconventional yet pragmatic first step in aerial transport in a nation where local hero Manna has established itself as an early leader in food conveyance.

A 41-year-old father of two, accused of illegally flying a drone into a “critical area” of Dublin Airport, is now facing the prospect of a jury trial after the charges against him were upgraded by the court.

Officials in Ireland have earned plaudits over the years for encouraging new technologies as drivers of innovation and economic growth, but they aren’t getting any applause for their perplexingly sluggish response in dealing with a series of drone sightings that have disrupted traffic at Dublin Airport, causing multiple flights to be redirected.

As indicated just last month, drone delivery specialist Wing has begun demonstration flights in a northern suburb of Dublin as a walk-up to full services it has planned next year for Ireland’s capital, and beyond.

Manna Aero CEO Bobby Healy is preparing to nearly quadruple the company’s current potential client base in Ireland with the start of drone deliveries in a large Dublin-area town in a few months. From there, he plans to launch activity in European Union nations he considers ready for aerial services. Healy tells DroneDJ in the second part of our interview why he believes its regulations put the EU in particularly strong position to take the global lead in emerging UAV-based services; how Manna’s full-stack drone manufacturing and operation model gives it a business advantage; and why a trained programmer who successfully built two tech travel sector companies decided drone deliveries would be his next challenge.

Tech entrepreneur Bobby Healy’s objective is as simple as it is enormous. He wants to use the momentum he’s created establishing Manna Aero as Ireland’s hottest aerial tech business to transform it into the biggest and best drone delivery company on the planet. And to do that, he’s readying its launch across the European Union in the coming months, with the US following hard on that.

Add Ireland to the list. Like a growing number of countries around the globe, Irish authorities say they’re now working to detect and thwart drone deliveries of contraband to the nation’s prisons, and have introduced anti-UAV technology into jails as a part of that.

Talk about the risks of flying a UAV without proper documentation. A 38-year-old Irish national and 12-year resident of New York is being detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) awaiting deportation over a visa infraction uncovered after his battery-depleted drone made an unexpected landing. Readers thus inclined can click a link supporting the pilot’s case toward the end of this post.

Ireland is expected to hear debate later this year on proposed legislation that would allow the nation’s police force, An Garda Síochána, expanded use of drones for surveillance and other missions that critics claim pose data use and personal privacy risks.

Drug traffickers accustomed to exploiting Ireland’s enormous coastline and limited naval resources to police it are set to soon find their work complicated by the deployment of drones equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) peering down from on high.

When it comes to aerial safety rules, Irish aviation authorities don’t kid around. Just ask the man who became the first pilot successfully prosecuted in the country for breaking regulations by flying his drone above a crowd.

Consider it a droning mission for God. An Irish priest has said he’ll live-stream traditional July outdoor masses as a means of allowing parishioners unable to attend due to COVID-19 restrictions to follow along.

It’s a historic day for the European drone industry. Ireland-based Manna Aero has become the first-ever operator to receive the much-coveted “light UAS operator certificate” (LUC) that would allow the drone delivery startup to self-authorize operations across the European Union.

Drone pilot Hugh Pollock was able to capture a double-decker bus on fire earlier this week due to the Belfast riot using a drone. The bus being alighted resulted from a petrol bomb being thrown at it by one of the nearby protestors.

Samsung Electronics Ireland has signed a deal with drone delivery company Manna Aero to deliver its Galaxy phones by drone. The new delivery service is just another in the long list Manna Aero has been setting live throughout Ireland.

Food delivery company Just Eats has begun offering drone deliveries in Oranmore, located in the county of Galway, Ireland. The drones will deliver food and products from Camile Thai and Tesco, making it perfect for the current pandemic.

Scientists from the University of Arizona are set to test their Mars drones in Iceland after receiving a $3 million grant from NASA. The grant was given as a part of a project that combines rovers and drones to explore more of the red planet.

Tesco aims to begin drone deliveries in partnership with Manna Aero next month in Galway, Ireland. The company plans to deliver ‘small baskets’ for now. Tesco joins the ever-growing number of companies turning to drone deliveries, including Walmart.

Ireland’s Manna Aero had a plan—to deliver fast food by drone. And it was about to start a trial for college students in March when the coronavirus hit–one of so many plans changed by the pandemic. Now it’s pivoted to a new role as a delivery service for pharmacies.
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