Delivery drones

Although multicopter drones now are being used to transport medical samples and supplies, their 30-minute (or so) battery life limits their range. This week, however, a hydrogen-powered delivery drone managed a one-hour, 43-minute ocean crossing.

Flirtey has just unveiled its new Eagle delivery drone.

The just-announced Silent Arrow GD-2000 cargo drone is made to stealthily deliver supplies in war-torn regions.

DLR is developing a new type of gyrocopter that ditches the pilot in favor of more cargo space. The focus of the Automated Low Altitude Air Delivery (ALAADy) system, the ALAADy Demonstrator unmanned gyrocopter is designed to autonomously deliver heavier cargoes at low altitudes.

​Using regular aircraft to transport organs usually works OK, but problems can arise when flights are delayed, or when planes can't land in remote areas. That's where drones could make a difference – and in an April 19th exercise, one was used to deliver a kidney for a human recipient.

​​Google’s parent company Alphabet is launching its very first air delivery service in the Australian capital of Canberra, following years of trials in the area. Wing, as the Alphabet subsidiary is called, will now begin delivering an assortment of goods to local customers via a mobile app. ​

The latest party to turn to the Silicon Valley startup Matternet for aerial courier solutions is logistics giant UPS, which will use its drones to ferry medical samples between labs and a hospital in North Carolina. ​

Airbus has kicked off a new drone delivery trial in which its Skyways drone will deposit packages onto ships anchored offshore. It's hoped the technology now being tested in Singapore will speed up delivery times, and offer a greener and safer way of doing business in busy ports.

America's Federal Aviation Authority has put forth a set of proposed amendments to current drone laws that would allow drone users to fly over crowds and at night under certain circumstances, without needing to file paperwork and obtain exemptions.

Alphabet's Project X drones started delivering burritos to customers in Australia's Capital Territory last year, and has now announced that folks in Finland can look forward to package deliveries by air from early 2019.​

​​Of all the potential uses for drones, using them to deliver life-saving medicines in developing countries is one of the most promising. The government of Vanuatu is now set to see what all the buzz about, announcing plans to trial vaccine-carrying drones before the year is out.

​When we last heard about courier company DHL's Parcelcopter delivery drone, it had been delivering medication to a remote island village and a mountaintop community, both in Germany. Now, the most recent version of the aircraft has just completed a pilot project in Tanzania.