In a bid to realise the future of autonomous airborne delivery, flight system and Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) specialist Airwayz is taking part in a two-year pilot programme that will see drone delivery tested ‘above and beyond any other scheme of its kind’.

In a world-first, drone fleets from multiple delivery companies are operating in Hadera, just north of Tel Aviv, to validate the safe and efficient integration of drone deliveries in urban environments.

Eyal Zor, Airwayz’ CEO and co-founder, said: “Drone delivery has the potential to dramatically increase the safety, speed and efficiency of transport systems across the globe. However, so far, we’ve only seen these types of pilot schemes test drones moving back and forth across a corridor of airspace. This restricts the number of drones that can work in an area and risks whole operations being abandoned if any part of the corridor becomes inoperable mid-mission.

“This way of working in corridors is simply not practical for the technology to scale-up for commercial use. This pilot scheme will demonstrate how multiple fleets of drones can operate, reacting safely to real-time situations, while also maximising delivery efficiency for a commercially viable solution to drone delivery.”

The pilot program, organised by the Israeli Innovation Authority in collaboration with the Ministry of Transport and the Prime Minister’s Office, began in March 2020, but has seen drone flight tests starting for the first time this March.

Five separate delivery companies are using their own differing USS (UAS Service System) in the pilot, all of which are managed by Airwayz UTM, which can manage fully autonomous operation across multiple drones with the use of artificial intelligence (AI) technology. This allows the drones to operate in a mesh network rather than along a corridor.

Ami Appelbaum, chairman of the Israel Innovation Authority and chief scientist at the Israeli Ministry of Economy and Industry, added: “Operating drones in a managed urban airspace is one of the most significant challenges prior to establishing regulation and integration of autonomous drones in Israel’s airspace.

“Implementation of this pilot programme, while demonstrating the operation of various drones by a number of different operators in the same airspace, marks the beginning of a new age in Israel’s smart transportation.

“From delivery of medicines, tests, and medical equipment, on to agricultural spraying and postal services, or food delivery to the customer’s home, this constitutes a revolution in transportation as we know it.”