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Drones

Wing and DoorDash to launch drone delivery service at Dallas-Fort Worth malls

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Santa won’t be the only one flying through the skies with boxes full of goodies this holiday season.

Commercial drone specialist Wing is excited to announce that it’s partnering with DoorDash and Brookfield Properties in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, offering ultra-fast drone delivery from local malls just in time for the holidays.

Launching at Brookfield Properties’ Stonebriar Centre in Frisco and Hulen Mall in Fort Worth, this will be a first-of-its-kind service for American shopping malls. More than 50 merchants will be available for drone delivery through the DoorDash app.

Wing’s highly automated drones can deliver items and meals to doorsteps in as little as 15 minutes. The drones can navigate to the delivery location at a speed of 65 mph and a cruising height of about 150 feet before safely lowering the delivery to the ground. [Read more…] about Wing and DoorDash to launch drone delivery service at Dallas-Fort Worth malls

Palladyne AI achieves ‘key milestone’ with first small drone autonomous tracking flight

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Palladyne AI, a developer of artificial intelligence software for robotic and unmanned platforms in the industrial and defense sectors, says its Palladyne Pilot AI software platform has “achieved a key developmental milestone”.

The company says it conducted the successful first flight of a third-party small drone that demonstrated the ability to identify and prioritize terrestrial targets of interest and then interface with the drone’s autopilot software to follow the prioritized target autonomously.

Palladyne AI had previously successfully demonstrated the Palladyne Pilot AI platform’s ability to identify and prioritize targets on stationary nodes and with hovering drones. [Read more…] about Palladyne AI achieves ‘key milestone’ with first small drone autonomous tracking flight

RobotLAB expands drone portfolio with Vision Aerial partnership

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RobotLAB, a robotics integrator, has partnered with industrial drone innovator Vision Aerial to expand the availability of its industry-leading unmanned aerial systems to businesses, government agencies and higher education facilities.

RobotLAB was selected as Vision Aerial’s preferred US dealer partner because of its deep knowledge of the business and education technology landscape, as well as its successful deployment of more than 10,000 robots worldwide.

Under the agreement, RobotLAB will add eight Vision Aerial products to its robust robot portfolio, including the Drone Surveying System, Construction Drone System, Solar Inspection System and Agriculture Drone System. [Read more…] about RobotLAB expands drone portfolio with Vision Aerial partnership

Drone market forecast to grow to $123 billion by 2030

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The drone economy is set to soar, with unprecedented growth on the horizon. According to global intelligence firm ABI Research, civil and commercial applications of Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS), aka drones, will expand dramatically, rising from just 8 percent to an impressive 32 percent of the total market by 2030.

In this timeframe, annual drone shipments will more than double from 1.5 million units in 2024 to 3.32 million, fueling an ecosystem poised to quadruple in value.

By the decade’s end, the sector will generate $123 billion in annual revenue, marking a transformative shift in the commercial and civil drone landscape. [Read more…] about Drone market forecast to grow to $123 billion by 2030

Airbound secures $1.7 million to make drone delivery economically viable ‘everywhere’

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Airbound, a drone technology startup, has closed a $1.7 million seed round led by Lightspeed to build “the world’s most efficient delivery drone”.

With its proprietary blended wing body tailsitter design, called TRT, Airbound aims to transform logistics, reducing delivery costs by two orders of magnitude compared to traditional options.

Historically, the drone delivery industry has faced challenges due to regulatory complexity and high per-mile costs, which have prevented drones from becoming the default solution for last-mile logistics. [Read more…] about Airbound secures $1.7 million to make drone delivery economically viable ‘everywhere’

Gremsy and HHLA Sky partner to offer industrial inspections with drones

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Gremsy, a provider of advanced gimbals and payloads, and HHLA Sky, a mobile robot management and automated drone inspection solutions company, have agreed a strategic partnership in the are aof industrial inspections.

By combining Gremsy’s state-of-the-art Pixy LR S-Port gimbals with HHLA Sky’s outstanding Integrated Control Center (ICC) and Sony’s digital imaging solutions, the collaboration significantly enhances efficiency and precision in industrial inspection processes.

HHLA Sky, a subsidiary of Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA), has been at the forefront of automating drone inspections. With the incorporation of Gremsy’s Pixy LR S-Port gimbals equipped with Sony’s ILX-LR1 cameras, HHLA Sky takes drone inspections to new heights. [Read more…] about Gremsy and HHLA Sky partner to offer industrial inspections with drones

Corvus Robotics brings drone-based autonomous inventory management system to lights-out warehouses

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New funding round brings total company investment to $18 million

Corvus Robotics, a provider of autonomous inventory management systems, has released an updated version of its Corvus One system that brings, “for the first time”, the ability to fly its drone-powered system in a lights-out distribution center without any added infrastructure like reflectors, stickers, or beacons.

The newest generation product is supported by an $18 million Series A round and seed funding led by S2G Ventures and Spero Ventures. [Read more…] about Corvus Robotics brings drone-based autonomous inventory management system to lights-out warehouses

Matternet enters home delivery market with first drone delivery in Silicon Valley

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Matternet, a developer of urban drone delivery services, is entering the home delivery market with the launch of the first-ever drone delivery service in Silicon Valley.

Matternet’s technology platform will enable ultra-fast, zero-emissions delivery of food and commercial items to consumers’ homes.

The company has been running an initial pilot since August 30, and now will expand its service in Mountain View and Sunnyvale. [Read more…] about Matternet enters home delivery market with first drone delivery in Silicon Valley

Red Cat and Palladyne embed AI into drones to enable autonomous operation

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Palladyne AI, a developer of artificial intelligence software for robotic platforms, and Red Cat Holdings, a drone technology company, are partnering to enhance the autonomous capabilities of all Red Cat’s Teal drones using Palladyne AI’s Pilot software.

Leveraging its years of innovative development work for US Government customers, Palladyne AI is developing an artificial intelligence platform for unmanned systems to enable persistent detection, tracking, and classification of objects of interest by synthesizing multi-modal sensor fusion data in real-time.

The AI product for mobile systems, known as “Palladyne Pilot”, will facilitate shared situational awareness across multiple drones and autonomous navigation when integrated with drone autopilot systems. Palladyne Pilot is expected to be made available for all Teal drones, including those already in the field. [Read more…] about Red Cat and Palladyne embed AI into drones to enable autonomous operation

5G technology ‘can contribute to the integration of drones in airspace’, says Genius

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If drone technology is to really take off, it requires that drones are integrated into the airspace and can fly alongside manned aviation. In the research project GENIUS, researchers from SDU (University of Southern Denmark), along with DTU (Denmark Technical University), companies and organisations have shown how 5G technology could be part of the solution.

There are high expectations for the future uses of drones. From flying taxis and healthcare drones to infrastructure monitoring, rescue operations, and the transportation of spare parts to offshore wind farms.

There’s just one problem. [Read more…] about 5G technology ‘can contribute to the integration of drones in airspace’, says Genius