8 October 2021
Paris, France- The French drone delivery vertiport designer and operator company DragonFlyPads supported by the Singaporean AirGo Design demonstrated it’s last-mile drone delivery capability at the Marché de Rungis during the week 4-8th of Oct 2021, with over 50 flights throughout the week. The drone delivery pilot project was backed by the Région Ile de France envisioning autonomous/high-tech logistic and infrastructure future in France and across the EU. The delivery took place within the Marché International de Rungis, a 3 kg payload food (medical equipment, porcini mushrooms, chanterelles, exotic fruits, champagne, spare parts for Renault etc.) drone delivery over the rooftops, flown from the Maison Butet at Rungis market to IlMercato restaurant. DragonFlyPads coordinated and received drone operation authorization from the French Civil Aviation Authority (DGAC), since the demonstration took place in densely populated urban environment with over 20 000 trucks per day and over 12 0000 employees in Rungis which is only 3 km from Orly International airport, and 15 km from Paris city centre. DragonflyPads technology demonstration included its capability to deploy its vertiports rapidly and reliably and UTM software solution in great precision and time-efficiency. AirGo Design provided its standardised 7L ultralight smart DroneBox™, only weighing 700g with the capacity to carry payload 14 kg = 5% payload fraction ration.
This historic event is the starting point of a multidisciplinary/cross-border collaboration to turn innovation into commerce, envisioned by the founding members of Drone Logistics Ecosystem, AirGo Design and DragonflyPads and Freespace Operation. It proves that companies with limited resources can create value only by showing willingness to collaborate and extend their support.
Dragonfly Pads CEO, Mrs. Sissel Thorstensen said “We are very happy and proud to have conducted these flight operations safely from our Vertiports located at Rungis International Market. These historic flights show the know-how of DragonFlyPads in one of the most complex environments. This is the beginning of a great era. We are very happy with our collaboration with AirGo Design.”
AirGo Design’s COO: Dr Ali Jahanshahi said “We are absolutely thrilled to see our collaboration with DragonFlyPads team bearing fruit. In the past 2 months we have worked closely on this project, starting from sharing technical specifications and prototyping process, which has been quite hard to manage due to COVID-19 pandemic. But as we know without hard labour nothing will prosper. We appreciate all the support and patience from the Dragonfly Pads team, with special thanks to their CEO Mrs Sissel Thorstensen.”
DragonFlyPads is a French start-up created in 2020 which designs and deploys docking stations for surveillance and cargo drones. These vertiports provide refuelling, maintenance, and storage for drones of all brands. DragonFlyPads identifies locations capable of accommodating all types of drones to create a fine mesh of the territory. This project will ultimately make it possible to generalize the use of commercial drones for the delivery of all types of packages (under 150 kg) and to open up the most less well served. DragonFlyPads is positioned as a technology service provider for operators of commercial drones and as an essential infrastructure link in the value chain of services and solutions provided by drones.
AIRGO DESIGNS PTE. LTD. was founded in Singapore in 2013, with the aim to introduce innovative lightweight solutions for the aviation industry using cutting-edge composite technologies to replace metal in heavy-duty primary/secondary aero structures. AirGo engineering team has designed a universal multirotor landing gear system integrated with a safe and reliable automated drop-and-leave releasing mechanism, including 9L standardised ultralight, recyclable, and smart drone boxes. AirGo technology is currently being used in the aviation industry and beyond in automotive, advanced air mobility and electronics. Over the years, AirGo has been featured in 200+ news articles in 20 different languages. And has won multiple awards and prizes in design & engineering, material innovation and sustainability.
Contact names:
AIRGO DESIGN PTE LTD: Dr Ali Jahanshahi, dle@airgodesign.com, www.airgodesign.com
Dragonfly Pads: Ms. Sissel Thorstensen, sissel.thorstensen@dragonflypads.com, www.dragonflypads.com
Secretariat for the DRONE LOGISTICS ECOSYSTEM: Mr. Gary Vermaak, gary.vermaak@airgodesign.com, www.dronelogisticsecosystem.com
تعليقات