drone technology
Alphabet drone division Wing has new plan for citywide delivery networks
Despite the flurry of innovation taking place within the nascent drone delivery industry, there’s one area the vast majority of drone firms wouldn’t touch with a 10-foot pole: cities.
Simply put, drone logistics are more challenging in urban environments. How will they avoid not just people but also tall buildings? How will they pick up orders from stores in densely packed city centers? And most importantly, where will they land?
That’s why, until now, drones have found most of their success in ru...
Elroy Air tops $2B in purchase demand for Chaparral drone with LCI deal
Much attention has been directed toward Walmart, Amazon Prime Air and Alphabet subsidiary Wing’s forays into drone delivery — perhaps rightfully so given some of the things those companies have built in the past. But looking beyond drone delivery’s trio of titanic names, other firms are subtly carving out their own sizable presence in the space.
Take, for example, South San Francisco-based Elroy Air, which on Wednesday announced that it now has more than $2 billion worth of orders for Chaparral,...
Breaking down Walmart’s 2022 in drone delivery
A promise kept can be a rare thing in the world of business, and it’s important to take the word of CEOs and other executives with a grain of salt.
But in the case of Walmart and its drone delivery service, company leaders have followed through on just about every prediction they’ve made.
The world’s largest retailer on Thursday released an assortment of statistics about its drone delivery network in 2022, revealing that it completed over 6,000 deliveries of items from ice cream to rotisserie...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/breaking-down-walmarts-2022-in-drone-delivery
Amazon drone delivery officially live in California, Texas
It’s official. About half a year after it announced Lockeford, California, and College Station, Texas, as the inaugural locations for Amazon Prime Air drone delivery — and after nearly a decade of promises, innovations and setbacks — Amazon finally launched its commercial service last week.
David Carbon, vice president of Prime Air at Amazon, shared a LinkedIn post on Christmas Eve revealing the long-awaited news: “First deliveries from our new sites in TX and CA. Couldn’t be prouder of the...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/amazon-drone-delivery-officially-live-in-california-texas
Ford patent filing could put drones over public roads
Just a few months after publishing an ambitious drone delivery patent that would combine delivery vans with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), Ford Motor Co. may have upped its own ante.
As company watchdog Ford Authority noted on Monday, a patent filing the automaker (NYSE: F) made in June 2021 and quietly published earlier this month calls for “systems and methods for operating drone flights over public roadways.”
Some...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/ford-patent-filing-could-put-drones-over-public-roads
Rwanda launches nationwide drone delivery service with Zipline
What began six years ago as a small pilot program using drones to deliver blood in remote areas of Rwanda has now evolved into a first-of-its-kind nationwide drone delivery network.
On Thursday, Bay Area-based drone delivery firm Zipline and the government of Rwanda announced a new partnership that will grant the company medical delivery service access to every single resident and household in the country.
The new partnership will triple Rwanda’s drone delivery volume by adding new delivery sites...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/rwanda-launches-nationwide-drone-delivery-service-with-zipline
Matternet CEO breaks down drone firm’s watershed FAA approval
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Amazon has been touting the prospect of drone delivery for over a decade now — but where are all the...
Amazon unveils smaller, lighter, more durable delivery drone
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Earlier this year, the skies were looking gloomy for Amazon Prime Air’s drone program, which was marr...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/amazon-unveils-smaller-lighter-more-durable-delivery-drone
DroneDek integrates smart mailbox with A2Z Drone Delivery system
Drone delivery is about much more than just the drone. Just ask DroneDek and A2Z Drone Delivery.
The two companies, each of which focuses on a different piece of drone infrastructure, on Monday announced a technical integration partnership to combine DroneDek’s smart mailbox with A2Z’s second-generation Rapid Delivery System (RDS2) for drone delivery.
DroneDek’s “mailbox of the future” is a high-tech delivery receptacle featuring a drone charging station, a heated and cooled storage compartment,...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/dronedek-integrates-smart-mailbox-with-a2z-drone-delivery-system