«Breaking News» UPS behind first regular commercial drone delivery in America

UPS will leverage drones to deliver medical samples in the first FAA-backed and continuous commercial deployment of drone technology in America. 

According to UPS, an autonomous drone -- Matternet’s M2 quadcopter -- will travel between locations at WakeMed's campus in Raleigh, North Carolina, flying distances of up to 12.8 miles along a fixed, pre-determined route. 

Currently, the samples are delivered on the ground via courier cars, says UPS, making the shipments susceptible to road traffic. 

The use of drones will both increase efficiency and lower costs, the company says.

Samples are loaded onto the drone which then flies a predetermined route to a landing pad located within the hospital. A pilot monitors the flight for safety along the way. 

While the drone is autonomous, UPS says the flight will still be monitored by a special pilot who will ensure that the vehicle arrives safely at a fixed landing pad. 

The new delivery system comes as a part of the the FAA’s Unmanned Aircraft System Integration Pilot Program (IPP) which aims to test the application of drones in both the public and private sector throughout the next three years. 

Other similar system have been deployed successfully to deliver blood in Rwanda as well as in Switzerland where a Matternet drone has already taken more than 3,000 flights. 

While private industry, particularly e-commerce companies like Amazon, have been eager to deploy drone technology for last-mile delivery, rules and regulations have kept the pace of commercial adoption and usage to a minimum.  

Drones have been slow to gain regulatory approval as privacy and safety issues are sorted out by the FAA and other state organizations.

Despite regulators methodical approach, interest continues to percolate. 

According to a report from Forbes, the number of FAA certified drone pilots last year grew 50 percent over 2017, totaling 115,000 .

Also among the major roadblocks for the future of commercial drone deployment are a web of privacy issues that could lead to no-fly zones over private property. 

Already, a patchwork of state and local laws limit unmanned and manned aerial vehicles' ability to fly within certain zones. 

WHAT IS THE US GOVERNMENT DOING TO IMPROVE DRONE TECHNOLOGY?

President Donald Trump signed a directive in 2017 to establish the 'innovation zones' that allow exemptions to some drone regulations, such as flying over people, nighttime flights and flights where the aircraft can't be seen by the operator. 

States, communities and tribes selected to participate would devise their own trial programs in partnership with government and industry drone users.

'Data gathered from these pilot projects will form the basis of a new regulatory framework to safely integrate drones into our national airspace,' US Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao said in a statement.

Ms Chao, who called the rapidly developing drone industry the biggest development since the jet age, said about 150 applications were received.

Ten sites have been included in a the Federal Aviation Administration's Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration Pilot Program. 

Selected were the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma; the cities of San Diego, California, and Reno, Nevada; state transportation departments in North Dakota, North Carolina and Kansas; University of Alaska-Fairbanks; the Center for Innovative Technology in Virginia; Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority in Memphis, Tennessee; and the Lee County Mosquito Control District in Fort Meyers, Florida.

North Dakota lieutenant governor Brent Sanford said the program will spur more commercial investment and 'allow us to explore new uses for unmanned aircraft.'

He envisioned drones helping with oil field, flood and weather monitoring, and 'finding missing persons.'

The unmanned aircraft industry has pushed for relaxed restrictions, and the Trump administration has said current regulations have limited drone use, forcing companies to test overseas.

Steven Bradbury, a lawyer for the federal Transportation Department, said drones have caused some 'apprehension' with the public but one of the initiative's biggest goals will be increased 'community awareness and acceptance' of unmanned aircraft.

Mr Bradbury said there is no direct federal funding for the test program.

Link hienalouca.com

https://hienalouca.com/2019/03/27/ups-behind-first-regular-commercial-drone-delivery-in-america/
Main photo article UPS will leverage drones to deliver medical samples in the first FAA-backed and continuous commercial deployment of drone technology in America. 
According to UPS, an autonomous drone — Matternet’s M2 quadcopter — will travel between locations at WakeMed’s campus in Raleigh, No...

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Dianne Reeves US News HienaLouca





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