AVSS Awarded $1.1 Million contract from Government of Canada to test new parachute guided delivery system for last-mile delivery
AVSS is set to complete delivery and testing of the Payload Precision Delivery Systems (PPDS) and integration into four commercial drones in March 2022.
(New Brunswick, Canada) – AVSS, a Canadian aerospace manufacturer that develops parachute recovery systems, flight termination systems, and payload precision delivery systems, is pleased to announce they have been awarded a contract from the Government of Canada to test and evaluate the PPDS.
The contract was awarded under the Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) Testing Stream. This program enables Canadian government organizations to test out Canadian innovations and evaluate the technology under their own operational settings. After testing, the program also features a direct sales option, Pathway to Commercialization, for other government organizations to purchase up to $8 Million of the PPDS without procurement competition for three years.
The PPDS is a dual-use technology that enables drones, helicopters, and small aeroplanes to deliver critical supplies to hard-to-reach destinations where landing and take-off of an aircraft are not ideal. The PPDS is capable of autonomously reaching within 3 meters of an
intended landing zone. This technology can be used for delivering medical kits for Search and Rescue operations or Meal, Ready to Eat field rations to firefighters in a Wildfire.
Transport Canada, Indigenous Services Canada, and 3 Points in Space Media will be testing and evaluating the PPDS for last-mile delivery in Northern Canada. The specific use case that is being evaluated is for drone delivery to a First Nation community that does not have
the expensive infrastructure for other types of drone delivery operations.
“AVSS has been developing this technology for several years and is excited to validate the system’s performance under harsh environmental conditions”, says Josh Ogden, CEO of AVSS. “When we began developing the PPDS’s autonomous guided system to prevent drone parachutes from drifting into traffic and trees, we realized that there was a major gap in the current Joint Precision Airdrop Systems (JPADS). This contract validates our assumptions and opens up a new market for our products.”
In addition to supplying 100 PPDS units in March, AVSS was also tasked with integrating the PPDS into four commercial drones. The integration into the DJI M300 RTK, DJI M600, Skyfront Perimeter 8, and Indro Wayfinder/FreeFly Systems Alta X were selected to
demonstrate the flexibility in adopting the PPDS.
For more information https://www.avss.co/
ABOUT AVSS: AVSS – Aerial Vehicle Safety Solutions Inc. (AVSS) is a Canadian aerospace company commercializing drone technology for Urban Air Mobility. AVSS’s current products are ASTM F3322-18 parachute recovery systems for commercial drones, flight termination systems, and precision payload delivery systems for last-mile delivery. AVSS’s retrofit products are distributed worldwide through their more than 50 authorized dealer network and sold directly to drone manufacturers across the world.
