Wisk, the eVTOL manufacturer from Mountain View, CA, and NASA are teaming up to focus on the safe integration of autonomous aircraft systems into an Urban Air Mobility environment on a national level.
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Merck starts delivering medicine using Volansi drones
Merck, one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, has signed an agreement with Volansi, VTOL manufacturer, to start using drones to deliver routine medicines to a Vidant health clinic.
Read moreHAPSMobile establishes internet connection from Sunglider at 62,500 feet
HAPSMobile flew their Sunglider, a solar powered high-altitude platform station (sometimes called pseudo-satellite) airplane, on its fifth test flight to an altitude of 62,500 feet, where its communication payload was able to provide an LTE connection to the ground. HAPSMobile is a joint venture between SoftBank Corp., a Japanese holding corporation with experience in telecommunications, and Aerovironment Inc., an unmanned aircraft systems manufacturer based in Simi Valley, California. The test flight, having started at Spaceport America in New Mexico, lasted 20 hours and 16 minutes, of which 5 hours and 38 minutes were spent flying in the stratosphere, a first…
Read moreBell and NASA perform autonomous drone test flight in controlled airspace
Bell, the helicopter manufacturer that is part of Textron and has previously announced its engagement in the urban air mobility market, flew its APT 70 drone beyond visual line-of-sight in the Class B airspace around Forth Worth, TX. The Autonomous Pod Transport (APT) 70 is a VTOL drone built for delivery in military and medical missions or commercial use. It can fly 35 miles (56km) at 110kts while carrying a payload of up to 70lbs (31kg). The demonstration flight was a joint effort with NASA, as part of its Systems Integration and Operationalization program, which looks at integration of unmanned…
Read moreSabrewing Aircraft Company sells 102 heavy-lift eVTOL aircraft in $600M order
Sabrewing Aircraft Company out of Camarillo, California, has been working on their Rhaegal series of heavy-lifting cargo UAVs. They have now signed a five-year representation deal with Arabian Development & Marketing Co., including an order for 102 Sabrewing Rhaegal-B unmanned, heavy-lift, Vertical Take Off Landing (VTOL), cargo aircraft with a total order value of $600M. Part of the agreement is the establishment of assembly, maintenance, repair, and overhaul facities throuhgout the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Africa, bringing jobs to the regions. Sabrewing CEO Ed De Reyes claims it is the first commercial purchase of an unmanned aircraft. We are…
Read moreElroy Air takes home Gold in IDEA 2020 Awards for Chaparral drone
Elroy Air is developing autonomous cargo drones meant for heavy loads. Its Chaparral eVTOL was awarded Gold in the Transportation category of the International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA), a prize previously won by the BMW i3 and the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
Read moreDB Schenker chooses Volocopter VoloDrone for middle-mile heavy lifting
DB Schenker, the logistics department of the German rail operator Deutsche Bahn, announced it will use the Volocopter VoloDrone for lifting heavy cargo in a business-to-business fashion.
Read moreBoeing puts innovation group NeXt on hold
Boeing sees the need to cut spending on non-core businesses and puts their innovation group, Boeing NeXt, on hold. NeXt was mainly concerned with Urban Air Mobility, but had also invested in other futuristic projects.
Read moreBaykar is the first Turkish company to test-fly their eVTOL
Baykar Defence flew their flying car, the Cezeri, for the first time. It is the first Turkish manufacturer to successfully test an eVTOL aircraft.
Read moreWalmart partners with Zipline to further drone delivery efforts
Walmart is teaming up with San Francisco-based Zipline to deliver certain items to customers’ houses using a fixed-wing drone.
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