Not Only Emergency Medical Deliveries

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Flight Forward (UPSFF), a subsidiary of the delivery giant UPS, and German drone maker Wingcopter are collaborating to develop the next generation of package delivery drones.

The companies are looking to start drone delivery in new use-cases. 

As part of this collaboration – UPSFF’s first new relationship with a drone manufacturer since its formation – both companies will work toward earning regulatory certification for a Wingcopter unmanned aircraft to make commercial delivery flights in the United States. It also is a critical step toward building a diverse fleet of drones with varying capabilities to meet even more potential customer needs, according to wingcopter.com.

The drones feature vertical takeoffs and landings in tight spaces, transitioning to efficient, high-speed horizontal flight enabling ranges suitable for a variety of uses. These capabilities will allow UPSFF to begin developing solutions that, if approved, will go well beyond the healthcare and retail industries to solve long-standing challenges for high-tech, industrial manufacturing, hospitality, entertainment and other customers.

The core innovation behind the company’s electric-vertical-takeoff-and landing drones is the patented tilt-rotor mechanism, which enables a seamless transition between two drone modes: multicopter for hovering and fixed-wing for low-noise forward flight. The aerodynamic aircrafts remain stable even in harsh weather conditions.

Wingcopter has already proven its capabilities in beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) projects and for diverse customers around the world – from commercial factory-to-factory deliveries to life-saving humanitarian projects and emergency medical supply. For example, the company delivered insulin to an Irish island in the North Sea that is frequently cut off from the mainland due to bad weather. On the South Sea island of Vanuatu, the start-up, on behalf of the local Ministry of Health and supported by UNICEF, successfully set up an on-demand vaccines supply, delivering the urgently needed serums within minutes to multiple different health centers.