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Tag: Flirtey

  • Flirtey ready for drone deliveries to U.S. homes

    Flirtey, a pioneer of the commercial drone delivery, has unveiled the Flirtey Eagle, along with a video of the next-generation delivery drone performing consumer and automated external defibrillator (AED) deliveries to homes.

    Flirtey’s system is designed to safely get packages to customers with the delivery goal of less than 10 minutes using drones.

    Along with the Flirtey Eagle, the aircraft designer and manufacturer unveiled the Flirtey Portal, a sophisticated takeoff and landing platform that enables scalable store-to-door operations. Also part of the system is an autonomous software platform that enables drones to deliver safely to American homes.

    Flirtey said it is on course to conduct drone deliveries to U.S. homes as early as 2019.

    Here are highlights of the UAV’s technology.

    • Flirtey’s aircraft is designed to operate in 95% of wind and weather conditions, making it highly reliable for flight.
    • The Flirtey Eagle is designed to fit 75% of packages that get delivered to its customers’ homes during last-mile deliveries.
    • The Flirtey Eagle safely and precisely delivers its contents by lowering a tether, while the drone is suspended in air, and once the package is delivered, it then retracts the tether.
    • Flirtey’s aircraft is controlled by its autonomous software platform, which has received Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval for the first multi-drone delivery operation in the United States, enabling a single remote pilot to simultaneously oversee ten Flirtey drones.
    • Flirtey’s Portal is a sophisticated takeoff and landing platform that fits into one parking space, making its infrastructure easily scalable to the company’s partners for store-to-door delivery.

    Flirtey’s drone delivery technology has been developed from the ground up, originating from NASA’s drone program. Flirtey Founder and CEO Matthew Sweeny has brought together a team of aviation industry veterans from NASA, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, and SpaceX, as well as military veterans from the army, navy, and air force.

    “We expect Flirtey’s advanced drone delivery system will become the industry standard in America,” said Matthew Sweeny, Flirtey founder and CEO. “Flirtey’s latest technology makes life-saving and commercial drone delivery to homes in the United States an imminent reality.”

    The Flirtey Eagle builds upon the advanced technologies developed for Flirtey’s previous generation aircraft that conducted the first Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)-approved drone delivery in the United States, which is going on display alongside the Wright Flyer in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. Flirtey’s goal is to not only meet, but to surpass the rigorous safety standards of the FAA. Flirtey’s regulatory approvals include:

    • Approval to conduct multi-drone delivery operations, enabling a single remote pilot to simultaneously oversee 10 Flirtey drones
    • Approval to conduct drone delivery flights beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS), enabling Flirtey to conduct drone delivery operations with a pilot controlling the flights from a remote location
    • Approval to conduct drone delivery flights at night, making drone delivery accessible at any time

    Flirtey and the City of Reno were chosen for the FAA and Department of Transportation’s Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Integration Pilot Program (IPP). Within the IPP, Flirtey and the City of Reno have partnered with REMSA, local emergency medical services provider, to deliver AEDs to those in need. Flirtey’s AED delivery technology has the potential to save 150,000 lives per year, the company said.

    Based on demand from customers, Flirtey expects demand initially to outstrip supply. Flirtey’s drone delivery system was designed from the outset to meet the anticipated high demand.

     

  • 7-Eleven, Flirtey make first FAA-approved drone delivery to home

    Convenience retailer 7-Eleven and Flirtey, an independent drone delivery service, completed the first fully autonomous drone delivery to a customer’s residence to advance research toward integrating drones into the National Airspace System.

    The July 22 delivery to a Reno, Nevada, home is the first time a U.S. customer has received a package to a residence via drone — a historic milestone in both U.S. and global commerce. The delivery was conducted in celebration of the convenience store chain’s 89th birthday.

    The goal of advancing drone deliveries as well as further refining Flirtey’s delivery technology and packaging were highlighted when Flirtey teamed with the Nevada Institute for Autonomous Systems (NIAS) for the delivery.

    “This delivery required special flight planning, risk analysis, and detailed flight procedures ensuring residential safety and privacy were equally integrated,” said Chris Walach, director of operations for NIAS.

    From a Reno 7-Eleven store, two deliveries were successfully completed. 7-Eleven merchandise — including hot and cold food items — were loaded into a unique Flirtey drone delivery container and flown autonomously using precision GPS to a local customer’s house.

    Once at the family’s backyard, the Flirtey drone hovered in place and gently lowered each package. The purchases were delivered to the family in the span of a few minutes.

    Products included Slurpee drinks, a chicken sandwich, donuts, hot coffee and 7-Select candy. In the future, both companies expect drone packages to include “everyday essentials” such as batteries and sunscreen.

    “My wife and I both work and have three small children ages 7, 6 and 1. The convenience of having access to instant, 24/7 drone delivery is priceless,” said Reno resident Michael, who received the Flirtey delivery. “It’s amazing that a flying robot just delivered us food and drinks in a matter of minutes.”

    The deliveries also mark Flirtey’s largest commercial relationship to date and bring the drone delivery startup even closer to its vision of reinventing the delivery process for humanitarian, online retail and food delivery industries.

    “We’re absolutely thrilled to have 7-Eleven, the largest convenience chain in the world, embracing new technologies and working with us at Flirtey to make drone delivery a reality for customers all over the world,” said Flirtey CEO Matt Sweeny. “This is just the first step in our collaboration with 7-Eleven. Flirtey’s historic drone deliveries to date have been stepping stones to store-to-home drone delivery, and today is a giant leap toward a not-too-distant future where we are delivering you convenience on demand.”

    Building on this initial collaboration, the two companies have plans to expand drone delivery tests and work closely together, according to 7-Eleven EVP and Chief Merchandising Officer Jesus H. Delgado-Jenkins.

    “Drone delivery is the ultimate convenience for our customers and these efforts create enormous opportunities to redefine convenience,” said Delgado-Jenkins. “This delivery marks the first time a retailer has worked with a drone delivery company to transport immediate consumables from store to home. In the future, we plan to make the entire assortment in our stores available for delivery to customers in minutes. Our customers have demanding schedules, are on-the-go 24/7 and turn to us to help navigate the challenges of their daily lives. We look forward to working with Flirtey to deliver to our customers exactly what they need, whenever and wherever they need it.”

    “I congratulate Nevada-based company Flirtey on making history yet again – this time by collaborating with the world’s largest convenience retailer to complete the first store-to-home drone delivery in Reno, Nevada,” said Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval. “Through our FAA Test Site designation, Flirtey has cemented Nevada’s position as the leader in the commercial Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) industry and I look forward to seeing them continue to grow and bring jobs to our region.”

  • Drone Delivery Test Event to Focus on Medical Service

    Drone experts will join with those from the medical field in a demonstration July 17 in Wise, Va. The event, “Let’s Fly Wisely,” aims to show how unmanned aerial systems (UAS) can alleviate the problem of health care access while creating economic opportunity for communities.

    Many people in Virginia and across rural America are beyond reach of essential health services and basic supplies, ranging from bandages to medicine, according to event organizers. The drones will deliver essential medical supplies to an annual medical clinic held at the Wise County Fairgrounds every summer, organized by Remote Area Medical (RAM) USA and the Health Wagon.

    At the clinic, thousands of medical specialists provide free eye, dental and health care services to people in urgent need, in what event organizers say is the largest free health care outreach in the nation.

    The UAS used for the demonstration will be a completely autonomous rotorcraft, designed by Flirtey, capable of delivering small payloads of drugs and medical equipment to isolated areas, and a larger, fixed-wing aircraft operated by NASA Langley Research Center, capable of carrying up to 600 pounds of cargo.

    The most urgent prescriptions will be provided from pharmacies located out of town, reports Startup Daily. To get the medicine to the community as soon as possible, the pharmacies will deliver them to their local airport, where they will be collected by NASA’s fixed-winged aircraft and flown to Lonesome Pine Airport. When the prescriptions arrive there, they will be loaded onto Flirtey drones and delivered to the Wise County Fairground. Flirtey drones are expected to deliver around 24 packages of prescription medication.

    The FAA-approved research flights will put UAS technology to work for medical relief, to show how unmanned aircraft can help health professionals provide care more easily and efficiently, closing the gap between those who can offer medical help and those who need it most.

    “In doing so, we will demonstrate the promise of a technology that offers a bright future for our youth — right here in Virginia, where Wise County is rapidly becoming a center for technology manufacturing and testing. We believe Let’s Fly Wisely is much more than a novel use of technology in healthcare. It is an example of the self-reliance, ingenuity and wherewithal of the American people and Virginians in particular,” organizers said.

    The collaboration includes nonprofits, universities, corporations and government organizations, including Virginia Tech Institute of Critical Technology and Applied Sciences. The Federal Aviation Administration selected Virginia Tech in December 2013 as one of six national test programs to conduct research on integrating unmanned aircraft into the nation’s airspace.

    Other partners include:

    • The Appalachian College of Pharmacy
    • Flirtey, Inc.
    • Health Wagon
    • The Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership
    • NASA Langley Research Center (pending approval of the Space Act agreement between NASA Langley Research Center and Virginia Tech)
    • Remote Area Medical
    • Rx Partnership
    • SEESPAN, Inc.
    • Wise County Economic Development

    The video below shows how Australian start-up Flirtey delivers packages with its drones.