Drone delivery in 2024 is hardly anything like the vision Jeff Bezos gave the world when he promised drone delivery on national TV back in 2013. A big reason? Lack of scalability. But a slew of major changes by drone delivery companies marks a clear sign in addressing how to improve the scalability of drone delivery operations. Among the latest? The new autonomous Ecosystem technology, created by DroneUp.

Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Virginia Beach, Virginia, DroneUp has been one of the smaller players in the American drone delivery space — albeit still a mighty player. Among its biggest clients? Walmart, which invested in DroneUp back in 2021.

And today, DroneUp revealed its new Ecosystem platform, which marks a huge shift in the way the company deliveries packages from retailers and restaurants. The focus of Ecosystem is scalability and affordability.

In short, Ecosystem is a series of centralized operations stations spread throughout an area. Each of those operations stations is autonomous in itself, so the only task at hands for humans is having the client drop off the actual package at the station — and customers subsequently picking up their package at another station once the drone has flown between the two.

It’s a huge departure from models at competitors like Wing or Zipline that emphasize drones flying directly to suburban, single-family residences.

DroneUp says the delivery model should bring down the costs of drone delivery.

“Retailers and quick service restaurants want us to have a clear glide path that brings the cost of drone delivery lower than currently being offered by human-based delivery while maintaining high safety and dependability levels,” said Tom Walker, CEO of DroneUp. “With our autonomous ecosystem, we are able to meet those customer demands and provide a solution capable of doing millions of deliveries every day.”

Here’s a deeper dive into how the new DroneUp Ecosystem works:

Inside the DroneUp Ecosystem

The most obvious departure from traditional drone delivery systems that you’ll see in the DroneUp Ecosystem? That huge ground station unit. Consider it a sort of airport for drone deliveries.

DroneUp calls it a Destination Box (DBX). These temperature-controlled units can stand on their own, and function as one of the centralized loading points that could be placed throughout a community. The units are large enough to hold up to 30 packages at a time, depending on their size.

A net sits on top of the box unit, where the drone lands.

The DBXs are vendor-agnostic. So in theory, Walmart could load a package of consumer goods in the same DBX that a local hospital loads medical products into. And it seems as though they’d be placed in relatively communal areas, just as mailboxes are. In a courtesy photo provided by DroneUp, the DBX sits in a large parking lot over two parking spaces.

Of course, the DBX machines go two ways, meaning that consumers could also head to one to pickup a package, similar to the Amazon Locker model. Amazon Lockers are useful for people who can’t receive packages at home. That includes someone in a multi-unit building with low security, or someone in a home who just doesn’t want packages stolen off their porch. With Amazon Lockers, people can retrieve packages at the Locker locations, (like some Whole Foods stores) through a self-service model. This is a similar system.

And that’s not all the DBX can do. They also incorporate drone charging capabilities to extend the reach of each delivery and eliminate the need for battery swaps.

Other fresh DroneUp product launches

The new DBX is the most notable launch, but DroneUp has been working on some other products.

For starters, DroneUp gave its actual drones an overhaul. That includes new delivery mechanisms and interfaces to operate with the ground infrastructure. The delivery mechanism at hand is a claw-like package grasper that can perform aerial drops or winch up to 120 ft. 

The drone also has a neat, internal package storage system to protect goods from rain, snow and even too-much sun. Engineers also worked to reduce the drone’s noise, while allowing the drones to carry larger, heavier boxes than before.

DroneUp’s drones can fly up to 60 mph over a range of 30-miles, meaning a drone in theory could fly as far out as 15 miles from the nearest DBX. That’s a surprisingly wide range, considering San Francisco is roughly 7 miles wide and 7 miles long. In theory, a drone with that sort of range and distance capabilities woud be able to do laps around a city like San Francisco in size.

Then, there’s the software. DroneUp launched a new operation system that incorporates flight control, navigation, airspace management, logistics management and safety-enhancing tools. That includes ‘detect-and-avoid’ technology. The system is automated enough that a single person can monitor many drones.

Together, those products comprise a patented, proprietary technology platform.

Is this the Drone Delivery 2.0 era?

The drone delivery landscape has experienced a growth spurt over the past year. This time last year, Wing (the sister company of Google) launched a system called the Wing Delivery Network. The decentralized, automated system better supports high-volume drone delivery, largely thanks to a new piece of harder called Autoloader.

Similarly to DroneUp’s DBX, Autoloader sits outside in a parking space. The person delivering the package loads it into the Autoloader. From there, the Wing Delivery Network ‘talks’ to a drone, telling it to fly over and retrieve a package, and from there the drone delivers it to a customer (typically their own home).

Shortly after, Zipline launched its P2 system, which is a two-part drone: the primary aircraft for long-distance travel and a detachable “delivery droid.”

Here’s how it works: The primary drone carries the droid to a designated landing zone near the delivery location. The droid then detaches, lowers itself via a tether, and gently deposits the package at the customer’s doorstep.

Whether the Zipline P2, Wing Autoloader or the new DroneUp Ecosystem, all represent a significant sign of growth for the drone delivery industry. In a sign of maturity, these drone delivery companies are tailoring solutions to address specific needs.

But will these new solutions be enough to make drone delivery truly succeed?

The DroneUp Ecosystem: will it work?

The world’s biggest drone delivery company, Zipline, and its number two competitor, Wing, seem to be all about direct home delivery. And while direct home delivery may offer the ultimate convenience and speed, safety concerns, payload limitations and the sheer matter of finding a suitable drop point can make it a complex challenge. Centralized stations like the DroneUp Ecosystem might provide a more feasible near-term solution, with lower infrastructure costs.

Here are a few reasons why a centralized station delivery model is great:

• Feasibility: Delivering to designated zones reduces the complexity of individual rooftop/porch/backyard landings.
• Efficiency: Centralized stations that serve as launch and recovery points may improve maintenance efficiency.
• Lower infrastructure costs: There’s no need to equip every home with a landing zone. Companies would focus investment on stations strategically placed throughout neighborhoods.
• Fewer privacy concerns: The constant buzz of drones overhead could be unsettling for some. Additionally, ensuring secure drop-off locations within customer yards might require creative solutions. A centralized delivery point could be positioned away from anti-drone neighbors.

But, it could bring some fresh challenges, including:

• Slower delivery: The “last mile” delivery from the station would require additional vehicles or personnel, adding time compared to direct home delivery via drone.
• Increased complexity: Managing a network of stations and coordinating deliveries adds logistical complexity if providers need to now add a human driver, biker or walker to go the final mile, especially compared to a purely drone-based system.

The DroneUp Ecosystem is set to launch sometime later in 2024. At launch, it’ll only be available to elected partners as part of its Early Partners Program.

Though, DroneUp does seem open to adding new partnerships and potentially even offering live demos. The company told The Drone Girl that you can call 877-601-1860 for partnership inquiries.

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Calling all Frosties fans and drone delivery dreamers: Wing, the drone delivery outfit under Alphabet (Google’s parent company), has officially brought its DoorDash partnership to the U.S. And it comes another iconic partnership — this one with fast food chain Wendy’s. Alas, you can finally get that juicy Baconator delivered by a drone.

This news follows Wing’s year-long drone delivery partnership with DoorDash in Australia. That partnership was announced back in March 2023, where drone delivery giant would work with Wing in Logan, Australia to bring good orders to customers. That marked the first time Wing allowed its food to be ordered through a third-party app — in this case, DoorDash’s app.

Now, residents of Christiansburg, Virginia, will be the first in the U.S. to experience drone-delivered Wendy’s.

Why Christiansburg?

While this is the first time DoorDash will offer drone delivery in Christiansburg, residents of Christiansburg should be used to drone deliveries at this point. Wing launched its first U.S. commercial operations in Christiansburg back in 2019.

“The community has been an integral part of drone delivery’s progress ever since, making it a fitting place to kick off the U.S. expansion of our DoorDash partnership,” according to a statement from Wing.

Among those residents? 84-year-old Susie Sensmeier. It’s believed that she holds the orders for most drone delivery orders placed ever. Within four years, she had made 1,200 drone deliveries, including 210 blueberry muffins from a local bakery and 93 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies from a local chapter.

Now, folks like Sensmeier will have the chance to order Wendy’s, too. Starting with service from one Wendy’s restaurant, Christiansburg customers will see an option in the DoorDash app to have their Wendy’s favorites delivered by drone.

What to know when ordering Wendy’s from DoorDash via drone

While details are still under wraps, here’s what we know:

• You’ll need the DoorDash app: Just like in Australia, you’ll be able to order Wendy’s fare through the DoorDash app. Select “drone delivery” at checkout for eligible items, and voila! Your lunch takes flight.
• It’ll start with one restaurant: For now, only one Wendy’s location in the city will offer drone delivery. There are a few outposts, so more might be added.
• Service is speedy: Wing promises delivery in 30 minutes or less, which is basically the time it takes to debate between fries and onion rings. Wing even claims its fastest-ever delivery took just under three minutes.
• Drones come to your home: After flying from Wendy’s at speeds as high as 65 mph, drones will fly over properties of eligible homes. from there, they’ll hover and gently lower orders right outside doorsteps using a tether.

Here’s a screen grab of what your app will look like when ordering to an eligible address from Wendy’s on DoorDash.

And if you’d rather have your DoorDash delivered the standard way (that’s by human) you can still select that option.

Want to learn more? Wing put out a promotional video showing the Wendy’s drone deliveries in action here:

Never tried DoorDash before? Use this link to get $5 off your first DoorDash order. That’s whether you order Wendy’s in Christiansburg via drone, or just go for any other standard DoorDash order anywhere else in the U.S.

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The DJI FlyCart 30 launched in China last summer. And finally, the DJI delivery drone is available to customers potentially worldwide.

The Chinese-based drone maker announced on Jan. 10 that the drone would now go on sale to the global market. But with the announcement came just as many questions as answers. It’s unclear how much the DJI delivery drone will cost. It’s also unclear which exact countries it’ll be available in.

Products are subject to all sorts of regulatory approvals by country, and of course drones are no exception. It’ll be intriguing to see which countries allow DJI’s massive deliver drone to fly — and it’s definitely not a guarantee that the U.S. will be one of them.

As far as cost, we do have a clue. When the drone went on sale last August in China, it was sold in a package for about $17,000. That included the drone itself, as well as the RC Plus remote controller, two Intelligent Flight Batteries, and a charging hub and cables.

But DJI is certainly hoping customers worldwide jump on it.

“We are optimistic that FlyCart 30 will become a trusted solution for aerial delivery, solving complex terrain and terminal transportation problems efficiently, economically, and most importantly, safely from the air,” said  Christina Zhang, Senior Director of Corporate Strategy at DJI.

What to know about the DJI delivery drone

We broke down the DJI FlyCart 30 delivery drone when it debuted in August 2023, but we’ll save you a click and share some key details about the DJI delivery drone on this same page.

• Payload capacity: The DI delivery drone can carry cargo weighing up to 30kg (66lbs).
• Max travel distance: This can fly up to 16km (10 miles). 
• Weather resistance: FC30 is designed for all weather and terrains. It has IP55 protection, can operate in temperatures ranging from -4° to 122° F. It can fly in winds up to 12 m/s.
• Safety features: There are a few here. Some highlights include:
  • Dual active phased array radar and binocular vision systems, which enable all-weather multidirectional intelligent obstacle sensing, day or night.
  • A built-in ADS-B signal receiver, to warn of nearby crewed aircraft.
  • A built-in parachute

Other key features of this DJI delivery drone include:

• Coaxial four-axis, eight-blade, multi-rotor configuration
• Carbon fiber propellers
• 20 m/s maximum flight speed
• DJI O3 transmission
• Dual Operator mod

DJI DeliveryHub and other flight management software

Along with the drone, DJI also offers corresponding software called DJI DeliveryHub. Considered a one-stop air delivery management platform, it’s designed to make the lives easier for folks conducting the actual deliveries through more efficient operation planning, operation status monitoring, centralized team resource management, and data collection and analysis.

The actual drone piloting is done through DJI Pilot 2, should you opt for manual flight. That software displays all sorts of information including real-time flight status and cargo status. In instances of extreme weather or other abnormalities, DJI Pilot 2 serves as your first alert system (and can help find you a safer place to land).

What are the other delivery drones?

The biggest players in drone delivery like Wing and Zipline use their own, in-house custom delivery drones. With Zipline, thats called the Platform 2 system, which is a drone plus a secondary Zipline droid in a loader. Google-sister company Wing builds a custom drone designed to work with its Autoloader, which makes it easy to latch packages to the company’s eVTOL style drones. Neither of those two company’s drones are for sale to the general public.

That said, there are options for off-the-shelf drones from other companies beyond DJI. One of the biggest names in A2Z Drone Delivery, an American drone company that recently expanded with new headquarters near Los Angeles, California. Their products include a long-range RDSX Pelican hybrid VTOL delivery drone, as well as the recently-released medium range RDST Longtail integrated delivery drone. 

Delivery drones are still very much a hot topic. Walmart used a huge chunk of the airtime during its CES 2024 keynote to gush about its drone delivery efforts — which are being done in partnership with both Zipline and Wing. Walmart can reach roughly 60,000 homes in the Dallas – Fort Worth area by drone delivery at present. But just this week, it shared ambitious plans to expand service to millions of customers in 2024 — all summing up to a goal to serve 75% of the region’s population.

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How’s this for an indicator that drone delivery is huge? The National Health Service, which is the largest employer in Europe, has turned to Zipline drones to help ship critical medical supplies in North East England.

Zipline announced in December 2023 that it would be starting up operations in the United Kingdom via a partnership with the NHS, which is one of the largest public health systems in the world and Europe’s largest employer. Come sometime in fall 2024, it’ll begin conducting deliveries in Northumberland (that’s a county in North East England, bordering Scotland) with its Platform 1 system, which it had launched back in 2023.

With the Zipline-provided drone delivery system, NHS says it expects to see reduced medical care costs and canceled procedures by being able to provide on-demand access to medical equipment.

The news is fairly interesting given that the NHS is the largest employer in Europe, with one in every 25 adults in England working for the NHS. What’s more, the service is set to create even more local jobs across robotics and aviation.

As part of the project, Zipline is partnering with another UK-based healthcare logistics company called Apian. Apian was co-founded by a team of former NHS doctors and has built a healthcare-focused aviation platform that provides a fully automated, on-demand delivery system.

How will the Zipline drone deliveries for NHS work?

As for how it’ll specifically work, Zipline will build a hub for its operations near the Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital in Cramlington, Northumberland. That’ll allow Zipline to centralize the inventory of frequently-ordered products such as prescription medicines, wound care products and joint replacement implants. The NHS will then place orders through Apian’s system, and Zipline will fulfill them.

From there, they’ll be in better proximity to health facilities, which for now are set to be:

• Hexham General Hospital
• Wansbeck General Hospital
• Haltwhistle War Memorial Hospital
• Various regional health facilities

Zipline’s drones (which it calls Zips) can travel up to 130 miles roundtrip in almost any weather condition. Once the drones approach the delivery location, they release packages with parachutes that float down to a hospital’s outdoor area. Zipline also sys its drones have redundant safety systems and are supervised by trained aviation personnel who can track a Zip’s flight and intervene if necessary. 

Unlike many other drone delivery companies such as Flirtey and Flytrex that primarily focus on delivering food products, Zipline’s roots are in medical drone deliveries. The company started in largely developing countries delivering critically-needed medical supplies like blood. After mastering efforts in developing countries, primarily in Africa, Zipline brought its operations to the U.S., where it’s used by companies like Cleveland Clinic, Pfizer, and Walmart.

In fact, Zipline claims it has flown more than 60 million commercial miles to date and delivered millions of medical products worldwide, including more than 13 million vaccine doses. Zipline was considered the largest drone delivery company of 2023.

Zipline is no stranger to medical drone deliveries, though neither are Apian nor the NHS. Back in 2023, Wing (the drone delivery company affiliated with Google) announced it would provide service in South Dublin in tandem with Apian to deliver pharmacy items, laboratory samples, and medical devices and supplies.

But that was contained to Ireland, and this latest set of news applies to a new region. And that’s set to solidify the United Kingdom as a drone powerhouse, a title it’s already been able to claim even before this news came out. For example, the UK was the site of the world’s first permanent postal drone delivery service, a European drone superhighway and it’s seen major developments in the ways drones can be detected.

What is Apian?

For its part, Apian already has a wealth of experience with drones. In October 2021, Apian’s own drones conducted the world’s first chemotherapy drone flight. The next summer, Apian drones completed the UK’s first prescription medicine delivery. And by the next spring, Apian conducted the UK’s first beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) blood pack delivery.

With these new operations announced last month, Zipline, Apian and the NHS say they will be able to serve nearly three dozen health facilities across the region, reducing the health system’s reliance on expensive last-minute logistics to move products between facilities when needed. 

“I’ve seen first hand the impact that running out of supplies can have on patient health outcomes,” said Dr. Christopher Law, Medical Director and Co-Founder of Apian. “Healthcare should benefit from on-demand delivery, much like consumers now do in their personal lives. Delivering critical products with drones, where and when they’re most needed, will improve supply chain efficiency and give doctors, nurses and clinicians more time to focus on the most important thing — their patients.”

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It’s expansion time for A2Z Drone Delivery, an American drone company that started as a project at Brown University. When it went from school project to actual company, it first operated out of Mar Vista, a wealthy neighborhood on the west side of Los Angeles. But the company is growing, and to gain more space it opened a new headquarters this winter not far away — in Torrance, California.

Torrance is a compelling choice, as it has a strong aerospace economy. Robinson Helicopters are designed and built in Torrance, as are the headquarters of aerospace fastener maker Alcoa Fastening Systems (now known as Arconic). It’s also less than 10 miles from the city of El Segundo, California, which is home to the headquarters of Lockheed Martin. Outside of aerospace, Torrance is also home to the U.S. headquarters of Japanese automaker American Honda Motor Company and its luxury vehicle division, Acura.

“Planting our headquarters in the aerospace capital of the world ensures we have ready access to the highest quality aerospace talent and suppliers, and are able to continue the supportive relationships we have enjoyed with local government entities,” said Aaron Zhang, CEO and Co-Founder of A2Z Drone Delivery. “From Torrance, we are able to provide in-person support for our customers, and have ready access to nearby flight test areas for flight trials and customer training.”

And the Torrance expansion isn’t all for the company, which builds drones designed to execute deliveries. A2Z Drone Delivery also recently expanded its test facility in Anji County, which is located just outside Shanghai, China.

The Torrance headquarters will primarily serve as the company’s base for research and development, product and software design, global sales and marketing, as well as customer training and support. The Shanghai test facility is where company engineers will conduct advanced autonomous BVLOS trials under real-life conditions (including actual deliveries for resident in what’s a rural area).

The drones are manufactured overseas, but the company would not comment specifically as to where.

What to know about A2Z Drone Delivery

A2Z’s initially product was simply a winch, which it launched in 2019 as a mechanism that mounted on drones made by other companies. These days, though, the company is more focused on its own fleet of ready-to-fly, off-the-shelf commercial logistics drones.

That lineup includes the company’s long-range RDSX Pelican hybrid VTOL delivery drone, as well as the recently-released medium range RDST Longtail integrated delivery drone. Those two products — as well as the initial winch — allow teams using drones for deliveries to keep their drones at a high altitude across the entire delivery process (and thus away from people), which is generally considered a safety feature (largely because recipients stay away from spinning UAV propellers).

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German football SV Darmstadt 98 (that’s a soccer team for the American readers out there) might have found itself a bunch of new fans — and those new fans could very well come from the drone community.

SV Darmstadt 98 is rolling out a delightful way to have its fan merchandise delivered this winter. You guessed it — it’s via drone. Assuming you live in certain districts of the town of Michelstadt, which is in Germany’s Odenwald region, you can have fan merchandise specific to local Bundesliga club SV Darmstadt 98 delivered to you via drone. That includes jerseys, scarves, and Christmas accessories. Yes, that even includes a €65 Ugly Christmas Sweater with SV 98 branding.

The drone-delivered products are available for sale through a specific website called Liefer Michel (‘Liefer’ means deliver in German). Liefer Michel is the German version of a delivery service called LastMile, which was founded in Vilnius, Lithuania and focused on all sorts of last-mile delivery mechanisms (which, yes, encompasses drone delivery).

Through the Liefer Michel website, you can order a variety of items for delivery not just from the Darmstadt 98 soccer league, but also through other vendors such as grocery items from the Rewe supermarket and regional products from the Odenwaldbox range. Across all its cities served, the LastMile service delivers goods from more than 40 different stores (though not necessarily via drone).

In fact, the drone deliveries specifically are executed by yet another drone delivery company — that’s German drone delivery company Wingcopter. Wingcopter is in the midst of a pilot project which incorporates orders made through LieferMichel and is also done with support from the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences. It’s got government backing too, as it’s funded by the German Federal Ministry of Digital and Transport (BMDV) as part of the “Innovative Air Mobility” funding directive.

If the name Wingcopter sounds familiar, that’s because it’s been a fairly strong player in the drone delivery space. Among its differentiators is its patented tilt-rotor mechanism, allowing it to take off and land vertically like a multicopter, while flying long distances as efficiently and quickly as a fixed-wing aircraft, even in rain and wind. Earlier this spring, Wingcopter received €40 million in what’s called a ‘quasi-equity investment’ from European Investment Bank (EIB). Among the company’s other accolades are being named a 2020 Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum, and coming in as a finalist in the third annual AUVSI XCELLENCE Awards 2020.

Just this month, Wingcopter won the Gründerszene Award 2023, which is a highly prestigious award for German startups.

According to Wingcopter, this recent bout of news technically means SV Darmstadt 98 is the first soccer club in the world to use drones to deliver merchandise to fans. Hey, it’s a pretty niche sort of ‘first’ to claim, but it’s something.

Though for now, the deliveries are still semi-limited. Don’t expect the drone to actually come to your doorstep. If you order an eligible Darmstadt 98 product and live in an eligible district of the town of Michelstadt, your goods will then by flown via Wingcopter delivery drones to fixed landing points just outside of the villages. From there, they’re actually transported the last few meters to the customer’s front door by electric cargo bike — not actually a drone.

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