Louisa Smith is Chief Aviation Officer at Apian, a healthcare logistics company founded by a team of National Health Service doctors in the United Kingdom. The Apian platform integrates both healthcare and aviation systems, creating a fully autonomous, on-demand delivery system that improves patient health outcomes and staff well-being. The autonomous drone delivery service will provide timely access to prescriptions, wound care, and other frequently needed medical products. In the long term, this could allow healthcare providers to reduce the number of canceled procedures, and thus decrease wait times.
Before joingin Apian, Louisa was the Head of Research and Development at National Air Traffic Service and a former Military Air Traffic Control Officer, she is now bringing her aviation knowledge and experience to Healthcare.
In this episode of the Drone Radio Show, Louisa talks about the efforts of Apian to develop drone delivery services for the National Health Service in the United Kingdom.
Will Irish Drones Soon Deliver Coca Cola to Dallas Neighborhoods?
Bobby Healy is CEO and Founder of Manna Drone Delivery. Manna is the world’s first aviation-grade B2B drone delivery service company. The company designs, builds and operates unmanned aerial vehicles, which perform high-speed deliveries of up to 8 pounds in high-density suburban communities.
The drone fleet is operated by Manna directly from a restaurant or dark kitchen facility and is accessible via API to food tech providers and online food platforms. The service enables participating retailers and restaurants to reduce delivery times to a fraction of their current times and improve the consumer experience of delivery. Manna received the first certificate for commercial drone delivery issued by the Irish Aviation Authority and European Aviation Safety Agency, opening up Europe-wide opportunities for the company.
Bobby Healy is an experienced inventor and technology entrepreneur specialising in booking engine software. He joined CarTrawler in 2005 having begun his career building computer games for Nintendo at 16 years of age. Prior to joining CarTrawler, Bobby founded Eland Technologies which he later sold to airline technology giant SITA and remained as CTO until 2005.
Earlier this year, Manna received an investment from Coca-Cola HBC. Manna also announced its first US drone delivery trial for Dallas, Texas, marking a significant milestone in the company’s plans delivery food and products to homes worldwide.
In this episode of the Drone Radio Show, Bobby talks about Mannas successful Drone Delivery service, the strategic partnership with Coca Cola and the company’s plans for the expanding into the United States and other countries.
Can drones deliver the mail?
Michael Merritt is Commercial & Growth Manager at Skyports Drone Services. Skyports Drone Services is a drone logistics company and provider and operator of eVTOL drones for cargo deliveries, survey and surveillance. The company is expert in the operation of long-range and Beyond Visual Line of Sight flight for a multitude of use cases, including ship-to-shore and maritime applications, medical and dangerous goods deliveries, and AI-driven surveys for the agriculture and infrastructure sectors. Headquartered in London, Skyports Drone Services has projects operating across four continents including Asia, North America, South America, and Europe.
At Skyports, Michael leads on strategy & operations, particularly in the area of drone deliveries. He has also worked as a flight operations engineer and pilot, gaining hundreds of hours of flight time experience and operating flights across many of Skyports Drone Services’ projects. Michael studied as an Aerospace Engineer at the University of Bristol and holds General Visual Certificates for fixed-wing and rotary drone operation.
Recently, Skyports Drone Services announced the launch of the Orkney I-Port project, a fully electric drone logistics project established in partnership with Royal Mail, the Orkney Islands Council Harbour Authority and Loganair. The project will deliver two new capabilities: daily inter-port delivery of Royal Mail items and the demonstration of shore-to-ship deliveries. The I-Port project is significant as it represents the first UK drone delivery project which can be conducted on a permanent basis under existing regulatory frameworks, a milestone made possible due to the unique landscape of Orkney.
In this episode of the Drone Radio Show, Michael talks about Skyports Drone Services, the Orkney I-Port project and how Skyports is working to create a permanent daily mail delivery service supported by drones.
How is drone delivery progressing in other countries?
Manoel Coelho is CEO of Speedbird Aero, a leader in the development of intelligent uncrewed aircraft systems. The company's advanced drone hardware and software solutions are designed to address a range of logistic challenges, from package delivery to emergency response. Their mission is to enable safer, faster and more efficient logistic operations using autonomous drone technology. By unlocking the potential of the sky for commercial, industrial, and healthcare use cases, the company is positively impacting businesses and people's lives around the world.
Manoel is an Entrepreneur and Business Leader with more than 20 years of successful and progressive experience in leading sales and marketing teams with proven ability to implement innovative business solutions that effectively enhance organizational productivity and profitability levels. He excels in developing business cases that showcase value propositions and influence leadership decisions and strategic direction. He has led Speedbird Aero as CEO for the past five years.
In this episode of the Drone Radio Show, Manoel talks about Speedbird Aero, the company’s drone delivery operations and logistics and how the company is making a positive impact.
What is a Chapter 135 certification and how does it relate to drone deliveries?
Yariv Bash is CEO and Co-founder of Flytrex, a drone delivery company that partners with retailers and restaurants to offer fast, safe and cost-effective airborne deliveries directly to customers' yards. Flytrex operates the largest backyard drone delivery service in the US, with delivery stations in North Carolina and Texas operating daily, and has signed agreements with several of the world's largest retail and restaurant chains.
Yariv has spearheaded Flytrex delivery services for 5 years. Prior to Flytrex, Yariv was Founder and CEO of SpaceIL, a $100M Israeli non-profit organization that launched Beresheet, the first private interplanetary robotic mission to the Moon in 2019.
In January, Flytrex announced its longtime partner Causey Aviation Unmanned was granted Standard Part 135 Air Carrier Certification from the FAA allowing Flytrex to operate and complete long-range on-demand commercial drone deliveries in the United States.
This milestone comes after years of rigorous training and testing verifying that Flytrex’s drone delivery service maintains the highest safety standards. With this part 135 Certification, Flytrex and CAU will further expand their drone delivery service nationwide – eventually offering food, drinks and other goods to the more than 82 million eligible back and front yards across the U.S. This approval has only been granted to a prestigious list of select companies – including Amazon Prime Air, Alphabet’s Wing, UPS and Zipline – to date.
Since successfully launching the world’s first fully autonomous urban drone delivery system in Reykjavik, Iceland, in 2017, Flytrex and Causey have been working closely with regulators to help ensure the highest safety standards in getting drone delivery off the ground. Together, they participated in the FAA’s UAS Integration Pilot Program (IPP), which concluded in October 2020, as well as the FAA’s subsequent initiative, BEYOND, working with the North Carolina Department of Transportation to help tackle the remaining challenges of UAS integration.
In this episode of the Drone Radio Show, Yariv talks about the Chapter 135 certification process, how it differs from a Part 107 certification, and how Flytrex and Causey are now positioned to delivery restaurant orders to homes throughout the country.
How Are Drones Affecting The Food Delivery Industry?
James Shea is founder and publisher of the Food Delivery News. The Food Delivery News is a multi-media business publication that covers the intersection of food, technology, supply chain and delivery. It covers the changing world of food and how it travels from the farm to the kitchen and finally to a consumer’s table. The Food Delivery News is a division of Media Lab Studios, a content studio that works with small and large businesses, helping them tell their stories through a variety of media.
James has over 20 years of experience in the media business and writes about the intersection of food and technology.
In this edition of the Drone Radio Show, James talks about the Food Delivery News, what restaurants are looking for in food delivery, and how drones are filling that growing need.
When you’re craving dinner and in a hurry, who do you call?
Yariv Bash is the CEO and Co-founder of Flytrex, an on-demand drone delivery company . Flytrex provides a direct-to-consumer autonomous drone delivery service that lets retailers and quick-service restaurants cater to a wider customer base with faster, safer and more economical on-demand deliveries than ever before.
Flytrex is currently working with several restaurant chains and retail giant Walmart to deliver food and goods to customers’ front and backyards.
Prior to Flytrex, Yariv was Founder and CEO of SpaceIL, a $100M Israeli non-profit organization that launched Beresheet, the first private interplanetary robotic mission to the Moon in 2019.
In this edition of the Drone Radio Show, Yariv talks about Flytrex, its innovative hot food drone delivery service and how drones are transforming the home food delivery industry.
How Does Drone Technology Deliver Value?
For that question, we head to Virgina Beach to talk with Tom Walker, founder and CEO of DroneUp. DroneUp is the leading complete drone services provider, transforming businesses and government organizations with drone technology solutions. A short-list of DroneUp’s diverse suite of products includes flight services, data analysis, training and drone delivery
Recognized as a UAS industry pioneer with patented mobile app technology and a commitment to research and development, DroneUp fuels invention and application across private and public sectors. With its people, services, and innovative solutions, the company delivers on operational challenges with efficiency, reliability, and safety.
Tom is a former military officer, and is a recognized pioneer in military and government digital reform. He managed the extensive programming and web enablement of computer systems to support both U.S. and International Special Forces. He has also served as an advisor to the White House on innovative technologies and their impact on the emerging workforce.
In this episode of the Drone Radio Show, Tom talks about DroneUp’s drone delivery service for Walmart and how companies can add value through UAS innovation. We’ll also talk about Xponential 2022 scheduled for April 25-28, where Tom will be delivering a keynote address.