Drones

Given that small-ish drones are already being used to deliver small packages, wouldn't it stand to reason that giant drones could deliver large loads? That's just what BAE Systems is looking into, with its proposed T-650 Heavy Lift Electric UAS.

It was just last year that we heard about A2Z Drone Delivery's RDS1 system, which lets third-party delivery drones drop cargo to customers on a long tether. Well, the technology has now been incorporated into a custom-designed multicopter drone.

Google's drone-delivery sister company Wing is rapidly expanding its drone delivery services in Logan, a city in Queensland Australia that Wing says is now the drone delivery capital of the world. Only red tape is holding back world domination.

Researchers have deployed drones carrying defibrillators to the sites of real-world cardiac arrests for the first time. On average, the unmanned aircraft arrived well ahead of ambulance crews, with the medical devices safely in tow.

While the inspection of railway tracks is an important task, such inspections have to be performed when no trains are nearby. The new rail-riding Staaker BG-300 Railway Drone offers an alternative, as it just flies off the tracks as trains approach.

Live power lines are traditionally inspected by workers who have to climb poles, stand in bucket lifts, or ride in helicopters. A new system promises to make such inspections quicker, easier and safer, by allowing a drone to do the job.

Currently, most electric drones are limited to rather short flight times. Also, in order to maintain radio contact with their operator, they must stay within line of sight. A new Honeywell system, however, is intended to address these limitations.

While drone racing is becoming increasingly popular as a televised sport, the live video from the drones' onboard cameras still leaves something to be desired. T-Mobile and The Drone Racing League are addressing that problem, with a new 5G drone.

Although electric multicopter drones have many potential applications, their 30-minute-or-less battery life limits their actual uses. The gas/electric HAMR hybrid is designed to address that limitation, offering flight times of up to 3.5 hours.

Back in April, Wingcopter launched its flagship eVTOL fixed-wing delivery drone, the Wingcopter 198, and now the drone maker has formed a strategic partnership with Air Methods to create a healthcare-specific drone delivery network across the US.

Through a novel algorithm that can plot a flight path with great efficiency, scientists at the University of Zurich are now claiming to have demonstrated an autonomous drone that can beat human pilots in a race.

Amazon is understandably keen to make the job of deliveries easier. The latest idea is a new patent for a system where delivery vans would carry items almost to their destination, then send out and direct ground drones to do the final drop-off.