Australian logistics and on-demand drone delivery specialist Swoop Aero has struck a partnership with global parcel giant UPS to expand and accelerate its distribution of healthcare supplies in Malawi, and over time elsewhere in the world.
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When Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine first came out, it needed to be stored at minus 70 degrees Celsius – a temperature colder than the winter in Antarctica. But with the US Food and Drug Administration relaxing the temperature mandates for transportation and storage of undiluted vials, a new opportunity has opened up for delivery drones. And it’s an opportunity that delivery solutions company UPS is looking to leverage with the help of special cold chain packaging, developed specifically for drones.
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UPS Flight Forward has announced it will be using Beta Technologies’ ALIA-250c cargo delivery drone to enhance its drone delivery network. The drone will deliver goods between UPS facilities, making hardly any noise with its silent props.
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Verizon’s Skyward and UPS Flight Forward have announced they will be working together to bring drone delivery to The Villages in Florida. The drones will use Verzion’s 4G and 5G networks, running on Skywards’ drone management platform.
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Matternet and UPS have jointly announced they will expand hospital drone deliveries in North Carolina, adding the Wake Forest Baptist Health medical campus. The addition of the new medical campus will allow for medical supplies and PPE to be transported in a much shorter time frame.
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Another day, another story of new drone delivery services spurred by the COVID-19 emergency. Today, Bloomberg Law reports that UPS will begin its first paid residential drone delivery service, catering to The Villages retirement community in Florida.
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UPS partnered with Workhorse Group, Virginia’s Center for Innovative Technology (CIT), and DroneUp to complete various tests to see how drones can be used to assist medical professionals in the fight against COVID-19. The tests evaluated the commercial drone industry’s ability to step up and produce drones to aid the U.S. healthcare system.
An experimental service from drone delivery company Wing in Virginia is humming along. The company says that its volume of deliveries has more than doubled since the service began on October 18. Wing hasn’t disclosed the total number of deliveries, but the growth is a positive sign.
UPS drone delivery subsidiary UPS Flight Forward (UPSFF) today said it would collaborate with German drone-maker Wingcopter to develop the next generation of package delivery drones for a variety of use cases in the United States and internationally.
On Monday, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) proposed new safety standards for specific drones for package deliveries in the Federal Register. The move is seen as a crucial step in allowing routine package deliveries by drones in the not too distant future.
As the demand for same-day delivery increases UPS starts to use drones as well as other delivery options to improve service for all customers. Apart from using drones the transportation giant is also looking to extend their hours of operation, expand weekend deliveries and use other innovative technologies such as autonomous ground delivery vehicles.
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UC San Diego Health will be commencing tests involving drones as a delivery method for medical samples between its facilities in hopes to reduce the time potentiates for blood results and treatments. The testing is a collaboration between UC San Deigo Health, UPS, and Matternet.
UPS Flight Forward recently was awarded their Part 135 certification from the Federal Aviation Administration, which allows them to make deliveries by drone throughout the U.S. This week, UPS in partnership with CVS made their first residential delivery by drone by dropping off prescription drugs from a CVS pharmacy directly to a consumer’s home.
On September 27, 2019, UPS Flight Forward was the only company to date to receive FAA approval under Part 135 Standard to operate a drone airline business. Since then, we have learned of UPS’s plans to partner with CVS to deliver healthcare products and over-the-counter medications to residents by drone. That information came out soon after we learned of the partnership between FedEx, Wing Aviation, and Walgreens. Today, however, I would like to bring some attention to UPS’s all-female drone flight crew: Sherri Roberts, Candice McHargue, and Caroline Furse. Because the drone industry is dominated by men, that team might help to inspire the next generation of female drone pilots.
This morning the Wall Street Journal has a detailed article about deliveries by drone. They take a closer look at Amazon, Wing Aviation and Uber Technologies. For some reason, UPS with their Matternet drones are not getting that same amount of attention in this article, even though they recently were awarded a Part 135 certification by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Not to be outdone by its longtime rival FedEx, UPS has announced a partnership with CVS Pharmacy to deliver prescriptions by drone. The logistics giant has reached an agreement with CVS to use drones for a variety of deliveries.
UPS has received FAA approval for drone deliveries in the US through a Part 135 certification. The logistics company is now allowed to fly drones carrying more than 55 lbs, fly drones at night, and fly them beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS).
Google’s Wing Aviation already has Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval. Amazon is seeking it. And, now UPS Flight Forward, a subsidiary of the delivery giant is also seeking government approval to start an advanced drone delivery service. The delivery company plans to use an extensive network of commercial drones to fly over crowded areas, at night, and beyond-line-of-sight (BVLOS). UPS created the new subsidiary, UPS Flight Forward to oversee the drone delivery operations.
UPS and Matternet are operating the first FAA-sanctioned commercial drone service to deliver medical samples in North Carolina. The Matternet M2 drone makes up to 10 routine delivery flights per day at WakeMed’s flagship hospital and campus in the Raleigh, N.C. The project, that is part of the UAS Integration Pilot Program will be overseen by both the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the North Carolina Department of Transportation.
