DroneUp® Taps A2Z Drone Delivery for Residential UAV Deliveries

A2Z Drone Delivery, LLC, developer of a patented tethered freefall drone delivery mechanism, recently completed the first commercial deployment of its RDS1 (Rapid Delivery System) with leading drone services provider DroneUp®. The RDS1 was chosen for its rapid delivery capabilities which reduced time-on-station to just 30 seconds per delivery, while minimizing intrusive rotor noise and limiting the window for risk to people on the ground.

“For our partners at DroneUp to put their trust in our system was the best proof of concept that we could imagine and was a memorable benchmark for our whole team,” said Aaron Zhang, founder of A2Z Drone Delivery, LLC. “The unique capabilities of the RDS1 were tailor-made for this type of residential delivery where our tethered freefall mechanism can accurately and quickly deposit payloads while hovering far from people, homes, trees and utility wires.”

By delivering payloads without having to descend from cruising altitude, the A2Z Drone Delivery RDS1 mitigates the safety and privacy concerns often associated with drone delivery by keeping spinning UAV propellers away from people and abating intrusive rotor noise of low-flying drones. Seizing on these unique capabilities, DroneUp worked with the A2Z development team to customize the RDS1 controls into its proprietary flight software.

“With the innumerable logistics that go into residential drone delivery, it’s important to have confidence in every aspect of the hardware from the UAV platform to the delivery mechanism,” said John Vernon, the CTO of DroneUp. “The RDS1 allows our pilots to reduce time-on-station to about 30 seconds per delivery. Combined with the ability to make deliveries from cruising altitude, this rapid delivery and the integrated safety features in the tether system itself, help us assuage some of the public concerns over UAV delivery.”

As drone delivery continues to expand in the United States, safety is always the paramount focus and will continue to be a point of emphasis as fully-autonomous delivery becomes a reality. To ensure payloads are secure throughout the flight, the RDS1 features extensive integrated safeguards. An automated pre-flight weight check ensures the flight platform is not overloaded before the RDS1’s built-in payload status detection monitors track the payload throughout flight and delivery. Manual delivery control is backed up by intelligent safeguards that calculate the payload freefall and when to slow the descent to the ground, while a passive payload lock protects against package loss in the event of a power fluctuation. Should the UAV experience an emergency, the payload and tether can be abandoned to save the aircraft, and protect the safety of people and property on the ground.

“No matter how many flight hours you have as a UAV pilot, adding the dynamic of delivering packages to the ground is still a new concept, so having the tether controls seamlessly integrated into the pilot software is imperative,” said DroneUp pilot Ethan Burnette, who flew delivery missions with the RDS1. “Also, knowing the redundant safety systems are in place gives you the added peace of mind you need as you become accustomed to flying a drone with a payload slung below it.”

The A2Z Drone Delivery RDS1 is currently available for immediate purchase through the company website, and interested partners are encouraged to reach out directly to discover how the RDS1 can be seamlessly integrated with other existing drone platforms. For more details on the unique A2Z Drone Delivery system, please visit https://www.a2zdronedelivery.com/rds1

About A2Z Drone Delivery, LLC

With its patented delivery system, A2Z Drone Delivery, LLC is developing innovative solutions to enable safe, accurate and low noise drone deliveries. Its flagship delivery system, the RDS1 (Rapid Delivery System) enables payload delivery and retrieval to locations UAVs are unable to land. Based in Los Angeles, C.A., A2Z Drone Delivery originated as a drone delivery project at Brown University in 2016. For more information visit: https://www.a2zdronedelivery.com/.