#DroneZone – Vol 2

Welcome to the 2nd edition of?#DroneZone, a weekly newsletter dedicated to all things drones! Each week we’ll bring you the latest developments, trends, and insights in the world of drones and UAS. From the newest models and accessories to the most innovative uses of drone technology, we've got you covered.

Over the coming weeks we will cover news on a wide range of applications including –

Delivery & Logistics - Medical - Disaster Relief and Search & Rescue - Agriculture - Surveying & Mapping - Inspection - Photography and Videography - Defence

Whether you're an industry professional, thought leader, drone pilot, a hobbyist, or just interested in the possibilities of this exciting technology, our newsletter will keep you informed and inspired. So sit back, relax, and let us take you on a journey into the exciting world of drones!

Company of the Week

SkyDrop

SkyDrop , (formerly Flirtey) is a turnkey solutions provider of hardware, software, and patents for autonomous last-mile drone delivery. Headquartered out of Reno, Nevada, the company first made history in 2015 when it conducted the first-ever FAA-approved drone delivery in the US.

Last week, SkyDrop has received Part 102 approval from New Zealand's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to establish a drone hub for live store-to-door drone delivery, including beyond visual line of sight operations, in Huntly, New Zealand. SkyDrop are the first company in New Zealand to receive approval for this type of drone delivery, making it a milestone for the company and the industry. They plan to provide regular drone deliveries to Huntly's population of nearly 10,000 people and businesses, and is committed to making New Zealand a leader in last-mile drone delivery.

Founder and CEO Matthew Sweeny said " SkyDrop is excited to work with the CAA to make New Zealand the innovation leader in speedier, cheaper, and greener last-mile drone delivery. This approval is a groundbreaking milestone for SkyDrop, and the drone delivery industry”.

Socials -?LinkedIn,?Website

Hot Topic

DroneUp announced yesterday plans to test new hydrogen fuel cell technology, developed by South Korea's Doosan Mobility Innovation , that would increase a drone’s flight time to two to five hours.

Hydrogen fuel cells have a number of technological advantages including increased range, zero noise pollution, faster charging times, are renewable and almost zero emissions.

However, there are some clear drawbacks. Firstly there is the cost (both raw material and overall), there is a lack of critical infrastructure in place currently, it is highly flammable and has complexity with integration in to drones and smaller UAS, with current applications predominantly revolving around larger airlines and commercial / heavy class vehicles.

?? “What future do you see for hydrogen fuel cells in the drone and UAS space? And if / when will it become a viable option on a mass scale?”

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this!?

The Latest in Drones News

???Last Friday, VC backed industrial drone manufacturer Censys Technologies Corporation Technologies raised $1 million of funding from undisclosed investors. Congratulations to Trevor Perrott and the team. The company offers a customized solution for commercial missions to accomplish advanced multispectral and ultra-high resolution monitoring for commercial Beyond Visual Line of Sight, Unmanned Aerial Systems operations. This follows their previous oversubscribed $8.3 million Series A raise for their BVLOS Fixed Wing Drone back in July 2022 and $99,411 of grant funding from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in December.?

?? Xwing (Acquired by Joby Aviation) , the San Francisco based autonomous aviation company, submitted a Project Specific Certification Plan (PSCP) to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), becoming the first large unmanned aerial system (UAS) to receive official project designation in the Standard Category. The submission initiates the approval process for uncrewed commercial cargo operations in the national airspace.

?? gNext , the infrastructure inspection platform,?and Skydio , the unicorn autonomous drones business, announced the release of the gNext-Skydio cloud integration, giving customers enhanced access to their drone data in gNext ’s platform. Gagan Kanwar , Head of Technical Integrations & Developer Ecosystems at Skydio is quoted as saying “ Skydio ’s US-made, autonomous-drones are incredibly powerful at capturing imagery for asset, site or infrastructure inspections. With this new partnership and API integration, Skydio and gNext will significantly improve inspection speed and quality, enabling customers to lower costs and enhance decision making.” This was re-iterated by gNext President Russ Ellis - “We are excited to partner with Skydio to support our mutual enterprise customers with this cloud-to-cloud integration”.

?? WhiteFox Defense Technologies, Inc. has been selected by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to assist in its airport drone detection program, demonstrating the advancement of counter-UAS technologies in the US. WhiteFox Defense Technologies, Inc. has been involved in multiple counter-UAS operations, including airspace awareness at the 2022 Circuit of the Americas Formula 1 event in Texas and leading drone detection services at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

?? Aeronautics Group , a global provider of UAS for defense and HLS markets, has secured a contract to deliver several Orbiter 3 systems to the Greek Ministry of Defense. The contract is part of the larger Israeli and Greek Ministry of Defense agreement, valued at about €370 million, for the purchase of Rafael's Spike missiles. CEO Dan Slasky stated “We are proud to be a part of this significant cooperation with Rafael in the G2G agreement with the Greek MOD. This collaboration demonstrates the technological synergy, and the close business integration between the two companies".?

?? Amprius Technologies, Inc. , the Freemont based lightweight lithium-ion battery manufacturer, have signed a partnership with AeroVironment for the supply of drone batteries for the Switchblade 300 Block 20 loitering missile system. Amprius Technologies, Inc. 's have developed a silicon anode platform which will allow for unparalleled run time. Congratulations to KANG SUN , Amprius Technologies, Inc. CEO and Brett Hush , AeroVironment’s VP Tactical Missile Systems on the partnership.

That's all for this week's edition?#DroneZone! We hope you enjoyed reading about the latest trends, news, and insights from the world of drones. Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter and follow the hashtag?#DroneZone?to receive all the latest updates.

Do you have any feedback, suggestions, or ideas for topics you'd like us to cover?

If you're interested in contributing to our next edition or highlighting the work of a business we haven’t covered, please get in touch!

Until next time, happy flying! ??