Drone manufacturers advance technology in pursuit of regulatory approval

It has long been said that drones will be the future of the cargo industry, capable of providing conventional, middle-mile and last-mile autonomous logistics flight support. However, early failures of adoption, like that of Amazon’s drone, have created a shadow of doubt around the concept of drone delivery. In recent years, several new companies have emerged to develop last-mile, middle-mile and larger drones or unmanned aerial vehicles to compete with — and potentially replace — conventional cargo aircraft. The U.S. Air Force, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and cargo industry companies like FedEx have made strategic investments that have led to significant advancements in drone technology. However, they are still awaiting takeoff clearance for cargo drones that continue to face major regulatory hurdles before being permitted to operate in densely populated areas, especially in the United States. The regulatory challenge The single most significant challenge when it comes to entering the market with cargo drone technology is “absolutely” the regulatory aspect, according to Parallel Flight Technologies CEO Joshua Resnick. The California-based company teamed up with NASA to create Firefly, a last-mile drone capable of heavy-lift support, delivering critical medical and food supplies to search-and-rescue workers and firefighters, as well as parcels to commercial and logistics businesses. Firefly employs Parallel’s proprietary parallel hybrid electric multirotor engine technology — a combination of fuel- and electric-powered propulsion — that gives it a total payload capacity of 100 lbs for two hours and up to 150 miles. [caption id="attachment_56725928" align="alignright" width="560"] The Firefly uses a mix of fuel and electric propulsion. (Photo/Parallel Flight Technologies)[/caption] “We have a novel, differentiated technology,” Resnick said. “However, there are companies with an all-electric drone, which have a drastically smaller operational radius, that could still be doing things with it that you don’t see today — and the reason you don’t see it is purely regulatory.” Fellow California-based autonomous drone company Volansi’s co-founder and Chief Executive Hannan Parvizian echoed those concerns about regulatory approval, and said he shares the same optimism about the certification process for smaller drones. “We are hopeful for iterative progress in a number of areas,” he told Cargo Facts . “One scenario involves incremental rollout of smaller and more mature drones in lower-risk areas before complex airspace and populated areas are attempted. Much of this will be driven by regulatory progress for aircraft certification and airspace rulemaking.” Volansi announced its latest drone, the Voly 50, in March. The drone is a multi-mission long-range autonomous aircraft built with a hybrid design, featuring electric vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) motors and a gas combustion engine for forward propulsion that can operate without runways, parachutes or heavy infrastructure. It can carry a payload of 50 pounds for up to eight hours at an average speed of 70 miles per hour, according to the company. Drones and regulators make progress As an increasing number of players enter the space, regulators may become more familiar with the technicalities of drone operations, paving the way for them to become much more mainstream and widely adopted. “ It’s hard to put an exact time frame on it, but I can say the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is working directly toward making this commonplace,” Resnick told Cargo Facts . “One thing that they’ve done is create a simpler type certification process for drones under 55 pounds. Prior to that — I think this just happened last year — a sub-55-pound drone had to go through the same type certification process as a 747, which made no sense.” Parallel is part of the FAA’s BEYOND program to bring drones into the national airspace for beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations. “That’s the next big milestone: how can we get sub-55-pound BVLOS approved?” Resnick said. “From what I understand, based on the conversations I’ve had, after that there’s a pathway that the heavier drones will begin to follow. Even today, to get a type certification for our aircraft is just an onerous process. Our strategy as a company is to monetize prior to full type certification in the United States in jurisdictions with less stringent regulations, of which there are many, because the FAA is the most stringent that exists.” The friendliest skies for drones Areas with looser regulations include Canada, Australia, New Zealand and countries in Africa and the EU, according to Resnick. “A lot of these jurisdictions are looking to bring in advanced technology quickly,” he said. “And by recognizing that some of the requirements that the FAA has in place for type certification just don’t really make sense or apply to the smaller systems, they’re able to kind of short-circuit that process and onboard that technology quickly.” [caption id="attachment_56725930" align="alignleft" width="560"] The Zip parachute-drops its cargo. (Photo/Zipline)[/caption] In June, San Francisco-based Zipline became the first U.S. drone operator to reach the major milestone of obtaining FAA part 135 certification for BVLOS drone delivery under the BEYOND program. The company, also the first fixed-wing drone operator to be certified, joins Wing Aviation, UPS Flight Forward and Amazon as part 135 carriers. Zipline’s electric drone, called “Zip,” has flown more than 23 million autonomous miles, including BVLOS operations, and completed more than 325,000 commercial deliveries, notably in Africa. The drone uses a supercapacitor-powered electric catapult launcher and accelerates from 0 to 70 miles per hour in 0.33 seconds, and although capable of a max range of 190 miles it averages 50-mile delivery routes. Zip can carry up to 4 lbs of cargo that is parachute-dropped to a 16-foot-diameter landing zone before returning to its distribution center and safely coming to a halt with the aid of an arresting gear. Zipline’s partners in the U.S. include Novant Health, Cardinal Health, Intermountain Healthcare and Magellan Rx Management. Meanwhile in Canada, Drone Delivery Canada (DDC) recently began a twelve-month commercial project delivering cargo between Edmonton International Airport and an industrial park with its Sparrow drone. The company has also teamed up with the University of British Columbia to use Sparrow to provide medical logistical support between the village of Fraser Lake and Stellat’en First Nation, just over three miles away, carrying 8.8 lbs of supplies. Sparrow has eight electric motors, traveling at a maximum speed of 50 miles per hour, utilizing DDC’s FLYTE Software for autonomous pre-determined navigation points between designated departure and arrival locations. Where do we drone from here? DDC CEO Steve Magirias agreed that the biggest challenge the industry faces is regulation, not technology. “The technology itself is there; it will continue to evolve and advance,” he told Cargo Facts . “But what we’re looking to do is to get the regulations to also improve in lockstep. We understand safety is paramount, first and foremost. But how do we leverage the technology to show that it is in fact safe, and then to move the whole industry forward?” The requirement for visual observers along a particular route for visual line of sight (VLOS) operations defeats the purpose of using small drones with cleaner technology and no emissions, Magirias argued, since the human observers are likely driving out to get to their locations. Another problem is the regulatory compliance varies widely from country to country, making harmonization on a global level even more challenging. For now, DDC remains fully focused on Canada developing its operations within the country. “At the same time, we’re also looking to see where and what international opportunities make sense in the future,” Magirias said. “Is it going to be the U.S? Looking at Africa, there are a number of companies that have started there. India’s another popular one that is open to drone technology and very supportive. But for us, it needs to make sense overall and tie into our goal and our vision of improving that technology and moving it forward.” As drone companies continue to make advancements through robotic and artificial intelligence technology, and civil aviation regulators gain experience with governing drone flights, some manufacturers are developing prototypes capable of carrying more payload over a greater range. Big drones go the distance One of the heavy payload drone developers is Florida-based Aergility, which unveiled its new hybrid-electric Atlis drone capable of carrying 400-500 lbs of cargo up to 600 miles traveling at 100 miles per hour. The Atlis design features a 40-cubic-foot cargo bay to minimize payload drag and is propelled by a 90kW turboprop engine that powers six fixed-pitch, 9-foot-diameter electric rotors. The drone propulsion system is complemented with “managed autorotation technology” (MAT), which enables the front upper rotors to rotate for vertical takeoff and landings (VTOL) while transitioning from horizontal flight with net-zero power usage. On the West Coast, California-based UAVOS’ UVH-500 is a joint collaboration drone project with Battle Lab India that is based on the Italian CH-7 Heli-Sport helicopter. The drone is capable of carrying 353 lbs up to 522 miles at an average speed of 99 miles per hour in night operations or severe weather conditions with an all-terrain navigation system. The UVH 500 is designed to provide logistical support in densely populated areas and can provide remote support in search-and-rescue missions, according to UAVOS. [caption id="attachment_417358" align="alignright" width="560"] The Chaparral C1 has a max range of 300 miles. (Photo/Elroy Air)[/caption] Fellow California-based drone company Elroy Air is working on its Chaparral C1, a fully autonomous VTOL drone powered by a hybrid-electric system featuring a 150kW turboshaft, designed to transport 300-500 lbs of cargo over a 300-mile range. Kofi Asante, vice president of strategy and business development at Elroy Air, told Cargo Facts that the company is putting more work into its structural testing and proof of load flight analysis due to the autonomous nature of the Chaparral C1, so that when it is ready to fly, Elroy will have full confidence in the craft’s structure. Elroy, like other drone developers, has partnered with the U.S. Air Force Agility Prime program and hopes to deliver the aircraft by 2024. Elroy also recently announced a joint partnership with FedEx to conduct express shipment tests of the Chaparral C1 and told Cargo Facts in March that its aim is to enable ramp-station operations in the long term, allowing the aircraft to serve cargo transport missions without requiring an airport. One company designing drones to compete with traditional cargo aircraft is Natilus, which recently acquired its new headquarters at Brown Field just outside of San Diego in April. Natilus is developing a family of four autonomous blended-wing drones capable of operating in roles similar to conventional freighters, loading and unloading using standard unit load devices (ULDs), with payloads of 3.8, 60, 100 and 130 tonnes, respectively. The manufacturer announced it had secured $6 billion in purchases for the delivery of 330 aircraft pre-orders and hopes to conduct the first flight of its 3.8-tonne variant by 2023. The aircraft has begun wind tunnel testing, which Natilus says validates the aerodynamics and performance needed to generate the aircraft’s autopilot software. The future integration of cargo drones appears to be inevitable. What remains to be seen is the time it will take for regulators and drone technology to fly on the same flight level. Regulators are understandably cautious because people’s safety is paramount to them, and these kinds of operations are still relatively new, DDC’s Magirias said. “But it’s also up to us to prove that we can operate in a very safe environment and the risk to the public is as low as it can be,” Magirias said. “I think the more we work together with various groups and even other partners, the more we can prove that the safety factor is there and clearly there’s a pathway to achieve the final autonomous state.” This feature originally appeared in the July 2022 issue of Cargo Facts.

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