After the second crash involving Silicon Valley startup Matternet drones, the Swiss Post has decided to halt their drone delivery service indefinitely. The failure of an emergency parachute to bring the aircraft safely to the ground raises questions about the safety of delivery drones in urban areas.
The new managers of the iconic Swiss cliff face restaurant are calling for a ban on ‘annoying’ drones. The Äscher mountain restaurant is located in the eastern part of Switzerland and is a very popular destination among Instagram users, many of whom use drones to capture the beautiful scenery.
Can you imagine, your mail delivered by drone over 60 miles? This is what happened the last month in Switzerland when a Swiss-built fixed-wing twin-engine drone delivered mail from Centovalli to Wolfenschiessen over a distance of about 60.8 miles in 1 hour and 15 minutes. This story comes with a breathtaking video that shows you how the drone used its anti-collision systems (FLARM, a Swiss anti-collision system) and GPS tracking to navigate its way over the mountain passes, reaching a maximum altitude of 10,656 feet. After flying for more than one hour at an average speed of 48 mph the fixed-wing drone had about 45% battery left. Visual line of sight was maintained with the use of a spotter airplane that followed the drone for the entire journey.
Fyi – we have seen more tests in the past that took place in Switzerland, for instance, this one where 100 deliveries were made by drone in Zurich.
Sounds crazy? That’s what I thought too, but apparently, it’s possible. The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland, has just released information about a spin-off start-up, LakeDiamond from their incubator which has developed lab-grown diamonds that can be used to recharge drones in flight.
Various Swiss media have reported a collision between a drone and a helicopter in the Verzasca Valley. The collision happened high above the Verzasca Dam in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland, last Friday, May 25. The Swiss Security Investigation Service (SUST) has identified the drone pilot, a 42-year-old Swiss from the canton of Lucerne.
Right now anybody in the European Union and Switzerland can simply buy a drone and start flying it right away as long as they are in compliance with the law. However, this may soon change as the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is currently drafting a law that will require aspiring hobbyist and commercial drone pilots to acquire a license before they are allowed to fly their unmanned aerial aircraft. Since Switzerland typically follows the EU aviation laws, it is expected that the new rule will apply there as well according to the Bundesamt für Zivilluftfahrt (BAZL), the Swiss Federal Office of Civil Aviation. The new rules may become in effect in 2019.
Like anywhere else in the world, drones are becoming increasingly more popular in Switzerland. Now Swiss legal experts found that if a drone is invading your personal privacy, you are entitled to shoot it down and you will not be liable for damages.
In a press release, we learn that leading airspace intelligence platform Airmap will partner with Skyguide, a Swiss air navigation provider to create Europe’s first National drone traffic management system. The Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) system, also known as U-space, will be first launched in Switzerland.
A new Swiss interactive map shows no-fly zones for drones in 2D and 3D. The Federal Aviation Office in Switzerland (BAZL) has created a new interactive map that shows drone pilot were they are and are not allowed to fly.
Mercedes-Benz recently completed more than 100 successful drone deliveries in Zurich, Switzerland. The unmanned aircraft delivered everyday items such as ground coffee and cellphones to Mercedes-Benz vans strategically located in the city. They were able to achieve a perfect safety record and more drone deliveries are planned for next year.