Soaring in the skies
Projects for manned air cargo from all over the world.
The crash landing recently of Amazon’s plans for drones found its way into the mainstream media too; the corporation was showered with scorn and derision in digital networks. This is a good moment to once again present you with the latest visions and concrete plans in this field. Without claiming to be offering a comprehensive report on the state of play we present four interesting projects here for unmanned air transport services for large and small freight shipments. Each one is special in its own way.
Cyclotech from Austria offers a new approach
Cyclotech is the first company worldwide to make the Voith-Schneider propeller commercially viable as a propulsion system for aviation. A study published in April, which the firm, founded in Linz in 2004, prepared together with the Japanese delivery service Yamato, shows that the electric ‘Cyclorotors’ can power a drone with a compact design that can transport 45 kg consignments over 40 km. It is said to be particularly suitable in urban operations.
Wing now its provides services in Dallas too
Wing, which has turned the Australian town of Logan into what it has described as “the drone capital of the world”, has now started making deliveries of goods in an agglomeration in the USA for the first time, with business starting on 7 April this year. The Alphabet subsidiary’s partners in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area that rely on the drone are the drugstore chain Walgreens, a local manufacturer of ice cream, a provider of veterinary products and Texas Health. The drone can transport packages weighing 1.2 kg.
Doosan takes hydrogen propulsion to the air
This particular drone, which is manufactured by South Korea’s Doosan Mobility Innovation, can transport shipments weighing up 50 kg to areas that other modes of transport find difficult to reach. The special feature of this unit is that it is powered by hydrogen fuel cell technology. Two-hour tests held in March were successful.
Sora is a Japanese solution for Asia and for Africa
The start-up Sora Technology, which signed a memorandum of understanding with local partners in Sierra Leone in March, is another player from Asia. The focus of this latest cooperation agreement is on building suitable local infrastructure for the Japanese firm’s fixed-wing drones, which are particularly well-suited to providing medical logistics services.