Disclaimer: All jobs posted here are from LinkedIn and other job sites including member and non-member organizations. Drone Related Jobs
Skyports is looking to recruit several roles:
Light Dynamix is looking to recruit a Marketing Executive.
Parrot are looking to recruit an administrator.
Drone technology could transform our skies and boost the UK economy by £45 billion by the end of the decade.
Flying taxis, crime-fighting drones and critical 999 care deliveries could all be a reality by 2030 thanks to the government and industry’s joint Future of Flight action plan, announced by the Department for Transport (DfT) today (18 March 2024).
Setting out a roadmap for drones and novel electric aircraft in the UK, the plan details how technology once confined to the realm of sci-fi could transform our skies, with studies estimating drone technology could boost the UK economy by £45 billion by the end of the decade.
It details plans for the first piloted flying taxi flight by 2026 and regular services by 2028, regular drone deliveries across our skies by 2027 and demos of autonomous flying taxis without pilots on board by 2030 – transforming how people and goods are transported.
The plan was unveiled on the same day the minister is due to visit Vertical Aerospace in Bristol – one of the UK companies making flying taxis and at the cutting edge of innovation in aviation.
These greener, quieter flying taxis are already undergoing the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) authorisation process and have been made possible thanks to rapid advances in battery technology, meaning they are light enough to stay in the air and powerful enough to cover the distances needed.
Some of the other actions set out in the plan include:
First imagined in the Flightpath to the Future in 2022, this joint plan between industry and government sets out the strategic direction of the sector over the next 5 years, striking a balance between innovation, security, safety and cutting emissions.
The benefits of this new technology are already being seen in the UK. West Midlands Police uses drones to tackle violent crime and antisocial behaviour. In July 2023, a drone team was deployed, successfully identifying 2 offenders and another suspect at a speed and distance that would have taken ground officers hours to track down.
Drones are also helping frontline NHS staff save lives. For 6 months between October 2022 and March 2023, the UK drone service provider Skyfarer partnered with University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust and Medical Logistics UK to test drones to deliver surgical implants and pathology samples between sites. In one case, drones reliably helped cut delivery times of surgical implants between Coventry and Rugby hospitals from up to an hour to just 18 minutes – a 70% decrease.
The Future of Flight action plan contains measures to make drone applications and assessments easier by creating new and simple digital platforms that operators can use – ensuring companies and public services are no longer shackled by red tape and get drones up and flying quicker.
It will also enable the development of vertiports – mini-airports for drones and electric aircraft that take off vertically – by developing certification standards and reviewing the use of existing infrastructure to deliver at speed, boost safety and security and put the passenger first.
Industry partners will also undertake multiple industry-leading trials to explore new ways to operate drones beyond the visual line of sight and demonstrate electric aircraft – keeping accidents to a minimum and making the most of technological advances. This could include finding and repairing faults quicker on our railways with fewer delays and cancellations for train passengers, providing new connections across the UK and using technology to help our emergency services.
The Future of Flight action plan comes ahead of the fifth meeting of the Future of Flight Industry Group, a joint force established in February 2023 for government and industry leaders to tackle the biggest challenges facing the sector and set ambitious goals as emerging aviation technologies become more commonplace.
From: Department for Transport and Anthony Browne MP
18 March 2024
One of the major challenges in integrating uncrewed aircraft into the same skies as crewed aircraft is that they communicate using different languages, in essence verbal vs data.
As experts in trialling advanced communications technology alongside their specialised aviation tasking, Draken Europe has been hard at work recently with their partners Volant Autonomy, supporting trials in the Agile Integrated Airspace System programme (aka ALIAS).
Last week, the ALIAS partners successfully completed their first flight trial using Draken’s crewed Diamond DA42 aircraft in proximate airspace with SkyLift’s uncrewed platform. This is the first of multiple flight trials in which Volant will be building team situation awareness, culminating in uncrewed SkyDrones, SkyLift and SkyPorts being able to operate safely and confidently in the same proximate airspace as Draken’s crewed aircraft.
Anthony (Tony) O’Connor, Draken’s Director of Strategic Bid Programmes, is leading the development of Draken’s #RPAS capability. He explained the role Draken is currently delivering in the ALIAS trials:
“We recognise there is considerable opportunity for us in building teaming capability to conduct safe UAV operations in challenging and congested airspace. Our investment in this goal is reflected in the contribution we bring to the ALIAS Project, part of Phase 3 of the Innovate UK Future Flight Challenge. The ALIAS project will deliver huge benefits in technological capability. The addition of Draken’s extensive operational experience will, we hope, result in commercial benefits for the whole consortium.”
5 December 2023
Among those included are schemes that involve medical drone deliveries, energy infrastructure, and ‘sky highways’.
The UK Civil Aviation Authority invited organisations to bid to participate in an innovation sandbox earlier this year to validate and test their concepts, supporting the development of BVLOS capabilities.
Projects involved include Apian London Health Bridge; Cranfield Airport and Project BLUEPRINT; Droneprep Open Skies Cornwall; HexCam; Skyports Project TRAject; and Snowdonia Aerospace Centre Project Dragons Eye.
Innovation sandboxes help organisations prepare for regulatory approval, and helps the regulator develop policies that better meet the needs of the industry in the future.
Sandboxes are controlled environments where organisations can test their innovative technologies against the existing regulatory framework, helping applicants maximise the readiness of their innovation, and also help the UK Civil Aviation Authority develop better, more efficient ways to develop new regulations.
These new trials will help develop plans for how drones can be safely integrated with other airspace users, as part of the regulator’s wider Airspace Modernisation Strategy.
The trials will consider a new policy concept that focuses on a specific type of airspace structure called a temporary reserved area (TRA) to enable the trialling of systems and approaches to safely enable drones to operate within the same airspace as other aircraft.
Prior to the new concept, drone operators wanting to fly BVLOS typically had to apply for a temporary danger area (TDA), which would effectively close a section of airspace for most other users for up to 90 days.
Sophie O’Sullivan, Head of Future Safety and Innovation at the UK Civil Aviation Authority, said:
“Our innovation sandboxes play a pivotal role in our ongoing mission to develop efficient, forward-thinking regulations that will allow different types of aircraft to use the same airspace.
“The chosen projects encompass a range of critical applications, including medical deliveries and infrastructure surveying. They highlight the varying role that drones could play in the aviation ecosystem and the trials will provide invaluable insights into how we integrate drones safely with existing airspace users.”
ARPAS-UK would like to congratulate its members involved in these projects.
17 October 2023
Drones carrying key medical supplies are taking to the skies of Northumberland this week as the trial phase of an innovative NHS project gets underway.
Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is partnering with Apian, a company which has come through the NHS Clinical Entrepreneurs Programme, to explore the use of Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to carry chemotherapy drugs, blood samples and other items between sites.
Following a UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) approval process, test flights will be taking place from Monday, February 13, to Friday, May 12, along a route from Wansbeck General Hospital at Ashington up to Alnwick Infirmary and onto Berwick Infirmary.
Given Northumbria Healthcare’s large, predominantly rural patch across Northumberland and North Tyneside, using drones could reduce delivery times, make efficiencies and cut carbon emissions. The trial will collect logistical data and assess the impact on patient experience, staff resources and the environmental benefits.
Sir James Mackey, chief executive of Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, said: “As an innovative and forward-looking organisation, we are always interested to explore initiatives which may be able to improve how we deliver care to our communities.
“With the area we cover and the number of hospitals and other sites we manage, having effective logistics to get supplies where they need to be is vital, while we are always mindful of our need to drive efficiencies and reduce our impact on the environment.
“Using drones has the potential to help us deliver important drugs and supplies in a better, smarter way, so we are looking forward to seeing how the test flights go. We are committed to providing as much care as we can in our outlying communities, so logistical routes to Alnwick and Berwick are a key focus.”
The project will use fully electric aircraft, which can take off and land vertically like a helicopter before flying horizontally like a plane by combining fixed wings with rotors. The UAVs, which are managed by Skyports Drone Services, can carry up to 3kg of payload and have a maximum speed of 110km/h (almost 70mph).
There will be six flights per day at the beginning of the trial, increasing to up to 15 flights per day at the end of the trial, delivering chemotherapy medication to Alnwick and onto Berwick Infirmary. Return flights from Alnwick and Berwick will deliver pathology samples to Wansbeck. Other items that may be delivered include blood packs, prescriptions, medical equipment and mail.
Apian co-founder and medical director, Dr Christopher Law, said: “This trial builds on Apian’s work in the Solent where we flew the world’s first chemotherapy and delivered the UK’s first prescription medicine by drone.
“While there’s still much work to be done before UAVs can operate autonomously in non-segregated airspace, there’s an equal and opposite amount of evidence for Apian to collect for how on-demand delivery can impact healthcare just as it has our personal lives.”
A period of community engagement about this project is taking place alongside the test flights. You can take part in the online survey here – https://
This trial is a critical step towards the greater uptake and use of UAVs to support the NHS to build capability into existing, pressured supply chains. Apian, and not the NHS, is funding the trial.
In doing so, there is the opportunity to assess and test the hypothesis that UAVs can deliver critical medical items as efficiently as the internet moves information. This will help reduce costs to the NHS and taxpayer through automation, respond to the climate emergency (a critical undertaking for the world’s fifth largest employer and UK’s biggest single supply chain), create new local employment opportunities, and, crucially, allow for better patient care.
Anthony Cape, Northumberland Estates’ senior asset manager, said: “We wholly support the use of drone technology to revolutionise the delivery of urgent medical supplies, especially in rural communities.
“Northumberland Estates is delighted to have supplied land for hub points in the desired areas, ensuring Apian and Northumbria Healthcare have a flight network for this trial to deliver essential medical services across Northumberland.”
Rowan Brown, CEO of Museums Northumberland, said: “Museums Northumberland is delighted to be supporting this ground-breaking initiative and assisting the work of our outstanding Northumbria Healthcare Trust in achieving better health outcomes for our community.”
There is more information about the trial available in this FAQs section.
BVLOS Operations Forum unites innovators to unlock the next generation of aviation
Pioneering companies in the emerging uncrewed aviation industry have joined forces in a forum established by air traffic control leader NATS, to break through the barriers to the UK industry’s development.
The BVLOS Operations Forum, which includes the UK’s leading beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) operators, brings together organisations at the cutting edge of uncrewed flight to learn from each other’s experiences, collectively improve their operations, and jointly develop solutions to the challenges faced by this fast-growing industry.
The ever-increasing number of operators believe there are huge potential benefits to achieving routine BVLOS flights – including increased connectivity, decarbonisation, and economic opportunities for all parts of the country. Because innovation in this sector has moved so quickly, regulations have not yet caught up, meaning BVLOS flights are still restricted to specific areas.
Some progress has been achieved and the Forum has actively supported recent policy initiatives which set out a positive direction from the Government and the regulator. However, operators are still operating in restricted spaces. While these have allowed the sector to hone operations and develop real opportunities for BVLOS services, many operators, including members of the BVLOS Operations Forum, have now outgrown the available capacity and the constraints are posing a genuine challenge to their business model. Looking for ways to address that, while encouraging ever-increasing safety standards, is the central mission of the Forum.
The BVLOS Operations Forum has given those seeking to operate uncrewed aircraft beyond-visual-line-of-sight a platform to work together, and a means for driving change and establishing a safe and workable regulatory regime that will benefit the industry as a whole.
This method of working together has been used by traditional airspace operators for many years and has contributed to the robust safety culture that exists today. By uniting uncrewed operators with extensive experience and equally extensive ambition we can develop a similarly robust safety culture, and collectively plot a course toward safely integrated BVLOS operations.
Russell Porter, Head of UTM Programmes at NATS and Chair of the BVLOS Operations Forum.
The founding members of the Forum include ARPAS-UK, Blue Bear, Callen Lenz, Flylogix, Maritime & Coastguard Agency, NATS, Network Rail, sees.ai, Skyports and Windracers, all of whom are actively involved in developing BVLOS operations, and some of whom are already operating BVLOS flights commercially.
The shared goal is to achieve routine BVLOS operations, outside of restricted areas and integrated with other traffic, making uncrewed aircraft a safe and effective option in the aeronautical toolbox.
NOTE TO EDITORS:
For more information about the BVLOS Operations Forum please contact [email protected]. For more information about individual Forum members please use the details below.
About ARPAS-UK
ARPAS-UK is the only non-profit industry trade association and professional body, focused on the development of the UK drone community. Founded in 2013, ARPAS supports members from start-up businesses to larger established operators, manufacturers, software providers and service companies, through promotion of innovation and best practice.
ARPAS works in the public interest, and advocates professionalism within its membership through compliance with an agreed Code of Conduct and the holding of appropriate permissions. The Association takes progressive stances on national issues to embed the drone profession in all end-user industries, to enable it to continue to grow in reputation and influence
CONTACT: Rupert Dent, [email protected] / 07989 300918 or Aleks Kowalski, [email protected] / 07971 447407
About Blue Bear
Blue Bear are pioneers of autonomy and unmanned systems; evolving unmanned concepts, regardless of size, at a pace unmatched by other organisations. We deliver efficient solutions, professional services and commercial results, supporting both military and civil markets worldwide, with unmatched pace, agility, passion and innovation. Blue Bear’s track record in innovative research and flight test has won us several awards and a prime position in the domain of UAV development.
Blue Bear are designing future aircraft systems, including an all-electric propulsion module, accelerating the electrification of various classes of electric aircraft and leading a consortium developing and building an affordable, sub-regional aviation network that is zero carbon, highly automated and centrally focused on customer experience.
CONTACT: Lee Tomas, [email protected] / 01234 826620
About Callen Lenz
Callen-Lenz is a UK market leader for innovative technology solutions and complementary technical consultancy, for manned and unmanned aviation. Harnessing the latest, state-of-the-art technologies enables the company to create ground-breaking technological aerospace solutions and aerospace technology, for unmanned systems that require high levels of functionality, availability and safety. Outputs include bespoke aircraft, rapid prototyping, upgrades, software, avionics and technical services. Callen-Lenz is a sovereign British company with a number of international partners.
CONTACT: Piers Hankinson, 01722 744946
About Flylogix
Flylogix is a UK company pioneering new sustainable ways for companies to use unmanned aviation for missions and logistics without hindrance (human, weather, location) and with the least harm to the planet. Its advanced engineering combines next-generation technology with tough, small unmanned craft that can fly to the most remote locations, up to 500 km beyond the horizon, in some of the world’s harshest weather conditions. Flylogix services are in operation with leading global partners from the energy industries to support them to accurately measure methane emissions and with emergency response services such as Oil Spill Response Ltd (OSRL) working to reduce the cost and risk of global spill response.
CONTACT: Chris Adams, [email protected] / 07779 696833
About Maritime & Coastguard Agency
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) is a frontline emergency response agency of the Department for Transport. As well as delivering maritime search and rescue through HM Coastguard (one of the four UK emergency services), the MCA is responsible for maritime regulation, safety and counter-pollution.
For further information about this or any MCA news story, please contact the Maritime and Coastguard Agency Press Office on 020381 72222 or [email protected]. You can also find us on hmcoastguard.blogspot.co.uk and on Twitter @MCA_media.
About NATS
NATS is the UK’s principal air navigation services provider and is split into two main businesses, which provide two distinct services:
NATS is alive to the opportunities that new airspace users present for airspace in the future and has worked closely with early innovators. Safety is always our number one priority, and we are working with increasing intensity to support the growth of this exciting new industry by safely integrating new users into a sustainable, modernised and fully integrated airspace.
For more information visit the NATS website at www.nats.aero
CONTACT: Press Office, [email protected] / 01489 445699
About Network Rail
Network Rail owns, operates and develops Britain’s railway infrastructure. That’s 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We manage 20 of the UK’s largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are managed by the country’s train operating companies.
We exist to get people and goods where they need to be and to support our country’s economic prosperity, by running a safe, reliable and efficient railway, serving customers and communities.
For more information visit Network Rail website at https://www.networkrail.co.uk/
CONTACT: Jack Harvey, [email protected]
About sees.ai
sees.ai has developed a semi-autonomous drone inspection system that enables national
scale drone operations to be piloted and managed from a central location. This technology
removes the requirement for skilled pilots to travel to the inspection site and as a result,
dramatically increases the scalability of drone operations whilst maintaining the highest
standards of quality and safety. The system is particularly well suited to detailed drone
inspection and survey of industrial assets and infrastructure, where it is necessary to get
close to the asset in hazardous environments. It simultaneously captures both 2D and 3D
information (digital twin), dramatically improving the ability to automate analysis, reducing
time and cost of inspection and maintenance.
Inspired by the team’s backgrounds in Formula 1, sees.ai uses advanced telemetry,
diagnostics, analytics and simulation tools to make it possible to safely deliver this capability
at national scale. The company was an early participant in the Civil Aviation Authority’s
(CAA) Regulatory Sandbox. The company currently holds the most advanced BVLOS
permission ever given by the CAA.
For more information visit the sees.ai website at: https://www.sees.ai/
CONTACT: Amanda Prosser, [email protected] / +44 7792 108193
About Skyports
Skyports Drone Services is an industry leading drone operator. The company is expert in the operation of Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) and autonomous flight for a multitude of use cases, including ship-to-shore and maritime applications, medical and dangerous goods deliveries, survey and monitoring operations. In addition to pioneering operations, Skyports Drone Services plays a key role in the development of the regulatory ecosystem for Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS).
Skyports Drone Services is a business division of Skyports. Formed in 2018, Skyports is driven by a vision to enable society to enjoy a safer, happier, wealthier existence by improving connectivity to people and goods through the provision of AAM infrastructure and drone services, whilst protecting the planet for future generations.
Find out more at: skyportsdroneservices.com
CONTACT: Maggie Mullan, [email protected] / +44 (0) 7946 090585
About Windracers
The middle mile of supply and logistics, especially to remote locations, has long been overlooked by the industry and is ripe for innovation. Windracers spent the last five years developing the most commercially viable logistics drones to enable the transport of goods and essential supplies to remote regions around the UK and beyond. The company specialises in all aspects of the value chain, including R&D, manufacturing, and operations. The team has extensive expertise in working with the CAA, and as such has been allowed to operate BVLOS point-to-point flights in over 10 locations in the UK.
CONTACT: [email protected]
28 July 2022
Airspace Integration of Drones in support of COVID response Pathfinder aims to deliver an operating environment where all airspace users are detected, and their locations presented back to other drone operators. This will enable drones to safely “detect and avoid” other drones and air users.
The project will be delivered by Trax International in partnership with UAvionix, ANRA Technologies UK and Plane Finder. Initial trials will take place at The Aviation Innovation Centre, Goodwood and will also include Skyports and Auriga Aerospace. The project is partly funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and is expected to be completed by November 2021.
Working under the Civil Aviation Authority’s regulatory requirements, the consortium aims to demonstrate safe Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drone flight alongside conventional air traffic in non-segregated airspace.
This will be achieved by developing a comprehensive electronic surveillance picture based on Mode-S and Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) transmissions using existing internationally recognised systems, procedures and rules, and integrating it into an unmanned traffic management (UTM) platform. This information will be re-broadcast via Traffic Information Service – Broadcast (TIS-B) to enhance the situational awareness of all airspace users.
Transport Minister Rachael Maclean said:
“The UK is already a world-leader when it comes to innovation in aviation and this exciting project will take us one step further to being able to safely use drones alongside other air traffic in UK airspace.
“This trial is supported by our Drones Pathfinder Programme which we are pleased to be funding into 2021/22.”
Trax International will be providing an overview of the project at the Government Drones Pathfinder Community Webinar on 31st March. You can register for the event HERE. These community events provide an opportunity for the Drones community to share experiences and form networking connections.
The UK Government Drones Pathfinder programme is sponsored by the Department for Transport (DfT) and aims to rapidly drive progress in unmanned aviation technology and regulation, enabling industry and the public sector to fully exploit the market in different industry sectors.
Pathfinder projects take a phased approach to achieve routine use of drones within the UK and focus on identifying and overcoming the technical, operational, and commercial challenges for bringing a new BVLOS drone-based service to market in the UK.
The Drones Pathfinder Programme is managed by Connected Places Catapult, under the governance of DfT, Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and Civil Aviation Authority.
You can find out more information on the Programme and Pathfinder projects on our dedicated Programme page.
30th March 2021
London, United Kingdom (UK), Tuesday, 23rd February 2021 – Argyll & Bute Health & Social Care Partnership (HSCP) has begun carrying COVID test samples and other medical materials on drone delivery flights between medical facilities in the Argyll & Bute region. Following a proof-of-concept phase last year, the three-month initiative, which aims to help improve COVID-19 related logistics to and from remote locations, has now been expanded and is fully operational.
The delivery drones, operated by the logistics arm of advanced air mobility company Skyports, will carry up to 3kg of critical medical supplies up to 40 miles. Cargo to be carried will include COVID-19 and other test samples, medicine, essential personal protective equipment (PPE) and COVID-19 testing kits. In a UK first, Skyports has become the first operator to receive permission by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to carry diagnostic specimens by drone.
Using delivery drones, access to hard-to-reach areas can be improved, significantly increasing the speed of transport and reducing times in some areas of the Argyll & Bute region from up to 36 hours for a road and
ferry journey to 15 mins, while also increasing the frequency of pick- ups.
The drone delivery service will initially operate between Lorn & Islands Hospital in Oban, Mid-Argyll Community Hospital in Lochgilphead, Easdale Medical Practice in Clachan Seil and the Mull & Iona Community Hospital in Craignure.
Both a scheduled service and an on-demand service will be run, with orders able to be placed by NHS staff through an online system developed by digital consultants Deloitte. Skyports will be using the Swoop Aero drone-powered logistics platform. The vehicles will be controlled from the Skyports Operations Centre in Oban and fly automatically along predefined routes. Communication between the drone and the ground control station will be provided by Vodafone’s 4G network and satellite communications to ensure connectivity coverage is provided at all times.
The project has been funded by a joint initiative between the UK Space Agency (UKSA) and European Space Agency (ESA) Space Solutions to utilise space-enabled technology and services that can support the NHS. This project follows a successful proof-of-concept conducted by Argyll & Bute HSCP in 2020 between Lorn & Islands Hospital and Mull & Iona Community Hospital.
Duncan Walker, Chief Executive Officer at Skyports, said: “Using drone deliveries within supply chains can create significant time and cost savings. This initiative is a natural progression from our recent trials with the NHS in Scotland as we scale our operations, supporting a wider network of hospitals and medical practices as they continue to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The experience from this important initiative will put us another step closer to permanent operations from which we hope more NHS facilities could soon benefit. This project underscores the viability of drone technology as a practical way to move goods.”
Stephen Whiston, Head of Strategic Planning for Argyll and Bute Health and Social Care Partnership, said: “Argyll and Bute HSCP is delighted to once again be at the forefront of using this innovative technology to assess how unmanned drones can enhance our logistics operations and improve services for patients and clinicians in some of our most remote and island communities. This three-month project working with Skyports will provide critical evidence on the real benefits this technology can bring to the NHS not only in Argyll and Bute but across Scotland.”
Skyports are an ARPAS-UK Member.
Website: www.skyports.net * Skyports on Twitter
This is the first step in a groundbreaking consultation programme and trial in the New Year, which will focus on engaging with the community to explore the viability of using drones to deliver to rural communities on the Isle of Mull, where Skyports is already using its drones to help NHS Scotland with the response to COVID-19. This will help to identify opportunities to support postmen and postwomen in delivering to very remote areas and addresses in the UK.
As with all Royal Mail deliveries across the UK, the postcode will route the parcel towards its destination. The local postie will then use drone delivery to reach the most remote locations in their patch faster. For the drone delivery, residents consulted on the Isle of Mull will be invited to use the DronePrep platform to assess the viability of their property for drone delivery and pinpoint a suitable landing location within their ownership using the what3words integration.
To enable this for the trial, Royal Mail is asking recipients to provide the what3words address, a 3 metre by 3 metre square, that corresponds to the precise landing point for delivery of Royal Mail parcels via the drone from the Royal Mail van.
Tom Nunn, local postman for Isle of Mull, said: “I am very pleased to be involved in this fantastic trial. It is an exciting opportunity to test out new ways of working to support us posties that deliver in some of the most remote areas of the UK. Some of the houses on the Isle of Mull include a thirty-minute walk to the front door so the use of drones will be a huge help!”
Nick Landon, Chief Commercial Officer at Royal Mail, said: “Delivering the first live parcel in the UK by an unmanned drone was a landmark day for us. We are incredibly proud to be working with DronePrep, Skyports and what3words to trial new ways to support the more remote and isolated communities we serve. This is part of our constant drive to incorporate the best innovative technologies into our network. We’ve seen a huge increase in parcel volumes this year and this is just one of the ways we are looking at to support our frontline delivery staff and deliver fast, convenient and green services for all of our customers.”
Gareth Whatmore, CEO of DronePrep & Consortia Lead, said: “In the last couple of years, drone technology has matured and with it the industry’s ability to solve real world challenges. Our collaboration with our superb partners Royal Mail, Skyports, what3words and the residents of the Isle of Mull is a huge opportunity for us all to learn more about how drones can complement and supplement existing Royal Mail delivery services. We are both delighted and proud to lead on this innovative collaborative project and for the DronePrep platform to help in determining future UAV flight and delivery opportunity for Royal Mail and the local community.”
Chris Sheldrick, co-founder of what3words added: “By labelling every 3m square in the UK with three words – a what3words address – recipients are very easily able to communicate their desired drone delivery location. Our technology perfectly complements traditional addresses, but by adding a layer of accuracy when needed. 2020 has demonstrated the need for fast, reliable deliveries and what3words is a perfect tool to assist Royal Mail on their mission to continue to innovate.”
Duncan Walker, Chief Executive of Skyports, said: “We are delighted to contribute our experience of flying delivery drones for the NHS around the Isle of Mull to this exciting project. Delivery drones are already proven as a fast and reliable solution for transporting packages to poorly connected rural communities. This trial with Royal Mail, what3words and DronePrep has the potential to lay the foundations for a future service to complement the one provided by Royal Mail’s hard-working posties that we rely on today.”
16th December 2020
London, UK: BT took a significant leap into the commercial drones market today, as the company announced, alongside Altitude Angel, the formation of a new consortium to deliver a series of industry use cases across the UK’s first commercial drone corridor.
BT, together with Altitude Angel and a number of UK tech start-ups, have been selected by UK Research and Innovation to deliver “Project XCelerate” – a key Future Flight Challenge project which will establish the UK’s first commercial drone corridor in open and unrestricted airspace, located south of Reading, Berkshire.
In summer 2021, the project will conduct flight trials along the 8km-long corridor to demonstrate how drones can operate safely in the same airspace as manned aviation. The consortium will demonstrate key industry use cases across healthcare, emergency services and infrastructure to illustrate how drone deliveries and inspection can bring countless benefits to businesses, the public sector and UK citizens.
Gerry McQuade, CEO of BT’s Enterprise unit, said: “As drone numbers continue to rise, there is an urgent need to safely integrate commercial drones into global airspace alongside manned aviation. In showing how drones can deliver improved, potentially life-saving services to the public, we’re aiming to accelerate the adoption of fully automated drones in unrestricted UK airspace in a safe and responsible way.”
“From improved mobility, connectivity, healthcare and manufacturing output, to reduced road congestion and pollution, automated drone technology will transform the quality of our lives. BT’s role in the consortium is to bring world-leading drone expertise together and to provide the secure and resilient mobile network connectivity, as well as our drone detection services. The power of EE’s 4G and 5G networks will ensure commercial drones remain connected for greater situational awareness, accurate positioning and to avoid collisions – ensuring that they can be operated safely and responsibly across UK skies.”
Richard Parker, Altitude Angel, CEO and founder said: “Project XCelerate is bringing together experts and world leaders in their respective fields, something we’re very proud and excited to be a part of. Our Arrow technology is truly ground-breaking and the key enabler to the project and we’re pleased to be deploying it for maximum benefit in the UK first.”
Joining BT and Altitude Angel as part of the consortium are: drone technology experts from Dronecloud, HeroTech8 and Skyports, cyber security provider Angoka, and end user experts SkyBound Rescuer and DroneStream.
The key use cases which will be explored by the consortium include using drones to assist the emergency services, for example during road traffic collisions and search and rescue missions. Using 3D mapping techniques, drones can be used for forensics purposes to aid the police when responding to road traffic collisions and can also help to locate missing persons during search and rescue missions. Project XCelerate will prove how drone technology can be used to speed up response times for such incidents, helping the emergency services to improve the chances of survival, whilst also reducing costs.
The project will also demonstrate how automated drones can reduce the lead times for urgently needed medical deliveries, helping the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors to improve standards of patient care. A further use case is key infrastructure inspection, where drones can be used to help assess damage or maintenance required for critical national infrastructure for the utilities, telecoms and transport sectors.
BT’s strengths in reliable, secure, high bandwidth, low-latency radio and fixed connectivity mean it is ideally placed to lead the consortium. Its EE mobile network – the biggest and fastest in the UK, and the trusted provider behind the critical Emergency Services Network (ESN) – will ensure that a safe commercial drone corridor can be established with optimal mobile coverage at altitude. BT will provide the critical communications required for BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight) environments such as GPS location and remote identification, command and control, redundant geo-awareness, and live notifications (NOTAMs) sent directly to drones in-flight.
BT will combine its experience with Altitude Angel’s leading experience in Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) platforms, together with its operation of the Arrow Drone Zone commercial drone corridor. UTM is a key enabler to address the safe and efficient integration of unmanned vehicles into airspace. Project XCelerate will combine a network of existing and new technologies underpinned by Altitude Angel’s proven UTM platform, incorporating existing air traffic management and communications systems and augmented by new technology, such as 5G.
Project XCelerate aims to widen the use of UTM systems by providing a framework which towns, cities, organisations and networks can follow in order to ‘open up’ portions of the sky. The project consortium is powerfully placed to realise the world’s first live commercial automated BVLOS flight zone in which any compatible vehicle can connect into and fly within safely.
15th December 2020