A2Z introduces drone deployment dock

A2Z Drone Delivery has started trials with its new AirDock drone station, enabling customers to charge and support the company’s RDST Longtail drones. [caption id="attachment_57144676" align="alignright" width="300"] A drone carrying a package recharges on a Dual AirDock from A2Z Drone Delivery. (Courtesy/A2Z Drone Delivery)[/caption] The AirDock is a weatherproof docking station designed with an automated charging function to ensure unlimited use of the drones. “Charging times will vary slightly depending on how depleted the batteries are when the Longtail perches atop an AirDock,” A2Z Chief Executive Aaron Zhang told Air Cargo Next . “But typically, a drone that just completed an 8-kilometer flight can recharge to 95% in just 25 minutes.” With the factory-integrated payloads, the Longtail AirDock edition drone can remain airborne for about 50 minutes, traveling 40 kilometers before reaching the 30% battery reserve level recommended for safe flight, he said. The dock features four variants: a dual, quad, portable and sheltered dock station for the customized Longtail AirDock edition drone, A2Z said in a statement. The docking platform has a rail system, while all moving parts are installed on the drone, Zhang said. Safe delivery via drone The Longtail AirDock edition drone comes in two varieties: cargo and patrol. “The shared infrastructure [at A2Z’s testing ground in China] supports autonomous patrol missions for the local water department, real-time quick response for local first responders seeking eyes-on traffic accidents and the like, and multiple local food establishments delivering on-demand food orders to local resorts and campgrounds,” Zhang said. The cargo drone can make a roundtrip flight, 20 kilometers each way, at 200 meters above ground level carrying up to a 5-kilogram package on a winch . “The Longtail can be customized with payloads to meet just about any customer use case,” Zhang said. “The A2Z commercial drone winch integrated with the Longtail Delivery UAV carries enough tether to make deliveries from up to 100 feet in altitude to keep spinning propellers away from people, property and obstructions on the ground.” Learn more about the Longtail AirDock edition drone and the AirDocks in this video from A2Z: Addressing infrastructure challenges A core challenge for service providers, governments and developers is securing the funding for infrastructure to support daily drone and advanced air mobility operations. A2Z introduced its new drone-network-as-a-service (DNaaS) model to remedy infrastructure costs, enabling operators to use the Longtail drone and its AirDock network by submitting an initial deposit and paying a monthly subscription fee, the drone maker said. “We have already manufactured and deployed multiple AirDocks in each variant,” Zhang said. “These AirDocks and multiple Longtail AirDock edition drones are currently undergoing trials in partnership with local municipal agencies in the region surrounding our Ground Zero Test Facility outside Shanghai.” [caption id="attachment_57144682" align="alignright" width="300"] A drone is in the process of being covered by a Shelter AirDock to protect it from the elements. (Courtesy/A2Z Drone Delivery)[/caption] A2Z began testing the AirDock system nearly two years ago, covering up to 1,000 square kilometers in Anji County, in northwestern Zhejiang province in China, with a network of 28 docks, he said. The DNaaS model, which includes delivery of a drone, generally costs $15,000 for a deposit and a $2,500 monthly subscription fee, according to the company. “The acquisition price for a larger network of AirDocks will, obviously, vary depending on the needed reach of the dock infrastructure, size of the Longtail fleet and their respective customized payloads,” Zhang said. “With the company’s new DNaaS subscription model, customers can minimize this initial startup investment, instead committing to a program deposit and monthly subscription fee dependent on the volume of missions anticipated each month.” The drone maker said it is working on the final assembly of the Longtail drone at its facility in Torrance, Calif. In addition to the Longtail, A2Z offers CUAV X7+ and Cube Orange flight controllers as options for its Pelican drone customers. The company introduced the hybrid-electric version of the Pelican drone last year.

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