A new world record of 97 miles has been set for a long distance drone delivery in the United States. The Nevada UAS Consortium (Team Roadrunner) flew an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) to Austin, TX using cellular connectivity last week.
The drone flew on a pre-planned route from a ‘central Texas urban location’ to Austin where it delivered a 4lb package. While the UAV flew autonomously it was also supported by visual observers along the route, equipped with enhanced radios and mobile phone communication equipment.
“Team Roadrunner “consisted of NIAS, Volans-i UAS, Latitude UAS, AUV Flight Services, and the ground and mobile visual observer support from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) Worldwide campuses.
Dr. Chris Walach, Adjunct Assistant Professor at ERAU, commented: “Drone package delivery in an urban and remote environment is the wave of the future, and Nevada is leading and helping to grow this major commercial endeavour. These package delivery milestones prove that new UAS technology enables the safe integration of UAS into the NAS for long-distance and urban package deliveries.”
Steve Hill, Executive Director of the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development, added: “Creating a safe and thriving drone industry is an incredible challenge, especially when you couple that with drone package delivery. The loss of communications during a long flight is a real concern, but because of this mission, cellular technology can be relied upon to ensure that communication with a drone is not lost over a long-distance delivery. The record-breaking success of Team Roadrunner’s aerial package delivery mission proves that diligent testing in complex conditions will lead to drone delivery becoming reality.”
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