UPS UAV delivery subsidiary looks for new horizons

UPS wants to operate delivery drones under the same rules as a private jet service, hoping to transport health products over long distances between US hospitals.

The company has asked the US Federal Aviation Administration to obtain Part 135 certification for operating commercial UAVs on the UPS network as part of a subsidiary called UPS Flight Forward, announced Sunday. the company.

The subsidiary could receive certification as early as this year, which would allow UPS to have one of the first fully certified UAVs generating revenue in the US, according to the parcel delivery company.

"UPS is committed to using technology to transform the way we do business," said Scott Price, director of transformation and UPS strategy. "The creation by UPS of a drone delivery company and its application to regular activities under this level of certification are historic for UPS and for the UAV and logistics industries."

Once approved, certification will pave the way for drone flights beyond the operator's line of sight and day and night flights, which are currently very restricted in the United States and approved only by exception.

"What we are aiming for is that we become a fully certified U.S. drone operator without any special waivers," Bala Ganesh, vice president of UPS 's leading technology group, told Bloomberg. "It's no longer a test or a storyboard. This year is over. We are now about to deploy a fully sustainable model. "

UPS has been involved in the development of the drone delivery system for some time. In 2017, he successfully tested a drone launched from the top of a delivery truck. The test was conducted in collaboration with the Workhorse UAV manufacturer.

On Sunday, UPS said that, unlike the FAA's more limited certifications for drone flights from other companies, UPS Flight Forward would operate under the FAA's standard certification, Part 135. This legally certifies a company as a carrier and certified air operator.

Alphabet's Wing, an offshoot of Google, was the first drone operator to receive Part 135 certification and other companies, including Uber Technologies and Amazon's airline division, are looking for reality, according to Bloomberg.

The Wing has obtained FAA clearance to operate as an airline in April of this year. The company has announced plans to make small shipments to rural Virginia later this year.

Currently, UPS handles UAV-specific health care deliveries in accordance with the rules of Part 107 of the FAA. The company is already generating revenue from health care deliveries. In March, she launched the use of an FAA-approved UAV for delivery service in the United States, at WakeMed Hospital and Campus in Raleigh, North Carolina. As part of this program, the company provides medical samples via drones, in addition to a land-based messaging service. UPS has announced plans to expand its UAV delivery service to other hospitals or campuses.

Ganesh said that by the end of 2020, UPS wanted to be "fully scaled" for the health sector.

"I am sure that the cost scale will decrease over time and that we will adapt to other commercial applications," he said.

Previously, the UPS Foundation and Gavi, the Alliance Vaccine, have supported the expansion of a network of medical drones in Ghana. The project involved using drones to deliver emergency deliveries of high priority products, including emergency vaccines, blood products and life-saving drugs.

The program is an extension of the collaboration between The UPS Foundation, Gavi and Zipline, which kicked off in Rwanda in 2016 helping the government to provide access to medical supplies in minutes rather than within hours to millions of dollars. Rwandan citizens from isolated communities.

There are still many obstacles to overcome before unmanned aircraft can fly steadily into populated areas or over long distances. The industry is wondering how to create an air traffic management system for drones and the government wants a system of identification to prevent dishonest operators from becoming a security problem.