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BY NOELLE STAPINSKY
KEEPING UP WITH THE SCMP IS CANADA’S MOST DRONES SOUGHT-AFTER THE DESIGNATION FOR SUPPLY TM
Aruja says that the pandemic has accelerated drone cargo delivery technology and it’s driven by e-commerce. Consumers are impatient and the demand for same-day or next-day delivery has never been greater. Kirk agrees. “There are certainly a lot more parcels being delivered now compared to preCOVID times,” he says. “That is a big driver. But there’s also a desire to improve delivery to remote communities and indigenous communities. Improved delivery of parcels and medical supplies to remote communities helps improve the quality of life. And certainly, the cost is lower by drone than if you had someone actually flying the plane.”
TURNKEY SOLUTION Drone Delivery Canada, a Canadian success story, has been in business for seven years. “All of the intellectual property patents are ours,” says Michael Zahra, president and CEO of the company. “I hesitate to call us a drone company because we don’t just sell a piece of hardware or software. It’s a turnkey infrastructure solution for logistics applications that’s sold as a managed serImagine decreasing workload and production The push for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) vice that includes consulting, set up, implementacosts, increasing operating efficiencies and, most and autonomous ground vehicles is also paving tion and the ongoing management of the solution.” important, easing that agonizing pain of first-mile, the way for drones. “Between autonomous Drone Delivery has three drones in its last-mile delivery speed bumps. The evolution ground and air delivery vehicles, there are simifleet—the Sparrow and Robin XL, which are of drone technology and the sophistication for larities,” says Barrie Kirk, executive director electric units, and the Condor, which is a larger these unmanned aerial devices is extraordinary. of the Canadian Automated Vehicles Centre of helicopter style gasoline powered drone. The The military has used and deployed drones for Excellence (CAVCOE). “The kinds of LiDARs fleet offers ranges of 30km to 200km carrying decades, consumers have mastered navigating and (light detection and ranging sensors) that are payloads of 4.5kg to 180kg. controlling them—in fact, a 16-year-old Toronto used on drones are the same basic concept for “The Sparrow has been operating for more teenager was recently recognized as the youngest autonomous ground mobility. On the ground than four years now. The Robin XL and Condor Canadian to achieve a drone pilot certificate. there are a lot of targets to track that are moving are in testing and are expected in the near Drones are now moving, at an accelerated slowly, whereas in the air, there are fewer things future,” says Zahra. “We’ve done a number of pace, into cargo delivery. Globally, there is lots to track, but the drone is moving quickly.” of activity with drone cargo delivery technolKirk says there are various market segments, pilot projects – we’ve flown in the US with the FAST-TRACK YOUR DESIGNATION THROUGH OURdoing PATHWAYS. IN CONTINUED ONLINE EDUCATION. FAA and we’ve flown at Moose Cree First ogy. Airlines in Africa, Asia SCMP and Europe are including Amazon, pilots andEXCELLENCE research Nation. We’ve also had First Nations pandemic getting into the drone cargo business for an for using drones for first-mile, last-mile delivunmanned alternative. The US has 377,000 ery. “But there’s also a lot of activity in ground- projects with Georgina Island and Beausoleil First Nations.” drones registered with the Federal Aviation based robots.” Using the Sparrow, Zahra says they were Administration (FAA). Europe-based DronamUPS has been conducting pilots that use able to fly to Georgina Island and the Beausoleil ics’ Black Swan, its flagship unmanned cargo a delivery van that drives to a location, the roof First Nations in Northern Ontario with the aim drone, can carry 350kg of cargo up to 2,400km slides open and a drone lifts off with a parcel. to deliver supplies, PPE, food and hygiene kits. at an 80 per cent lower cost than aircraft. It has Once delivered, the drone returns to the van, “These are island communities that wanted to said that it will have subsidiaries in Canada, even if the van has moved to a different locaself-isolate and limit person-to-person contact, Ireland and Australia. tion, says Kirk. Last November, Air Canada announced The real driver in this technology, according but they wanted to keep the supply chain open.” it could soon operate unmanned drones for to Mark Aruja, director of Unmanned Systems Drone Delivery has run two commercial logistics intermediary shippers and third-party Canada, is the small and powerful electric pilot projects with DSV, a global logistics comlogistics. Jaunt Air Mobility will be designing motors, along with the evolution of battery pany. DSV’s 1.2-million-sq-ft facility in Milton, and manufacturing its family of eVTOL aircraft technology and digital technologies. “[They Ontario, used the Sparrow to move cargo exterin Montreal. use] accelerometers that came from airbags nally around its campus, which is more efficient A first in Canada, InDro Robotics Inc. deployed in cars, the cameras on them came than trying to navigate the facility. It also ran a achieved the LIVE-FACULTY Canadian Transport Agency’s from cell phones,” he says. “People look at BASED project moving healthcare related items offsite REAL-WORLD CASE-STUDY LEARN AT YOUR (CTA) approval to operate domestic air service these little helicopter drones and think it’s low to a DSV customer. LEARNING INTERACTION EXAMPLES OWN PACE for cargo drone delivery. This license means tech, but actually what’s in there is more “We’ve done three projects with Ontario’s it can ship up to 10kg. sophisticated than aircraft that fly people.” Peel Region, where we were moving defibrilla-
DRONE CARGO TECHNOLOGY IS CHAIN PROFESSIONALS RAPIDLY TAKING OFF
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