A2Z Drone Delivery, Inc, developer of commercial drone delivery solutions, has announced the opening of its new worldwide headquarters in Torrance, CA. The expanded facility will allow A2Z Drone Delivery to continue its rapid growth as commercial drone delivery scales globally. The Torrance headquarters is the company’s base for research and development, product and software design, global sales and marketing, as well as customer training and support.
Initially launching the industry’s first commercial drone delivery winch in 2019. A2Z Drone Delivery’s RDS2 UAV winch is a drone agnostic solution that can be integrated with just about any commercial delivery UAV. The RDS2 is also available as a factory integrated feature with A2Z Drone Delivery’s growing fleet of ready-to-fly, off-the-shelf commercial logistics UAVs. The company is currently taking orders for its long-range RDSX Pelican hybrid VTOL delivery drone as well as the recently-released medium range RDST Longtail integrated delivery drone.
Combined with the A2Z Drone Delivery UAV winch, these platforms allow drone service providers and enterprise customers to scale drone operations while addressing the consumer-protection concerns with last-mile drone delivery. By conducting deliveries from altitude, A2Z Drone Delivery’s solutions protect recipients from spinning UAV propellers, while mitigating privacy concerns of low-flying drones and abating intrusive rotor noise. Depositing payloads from altitude also keeps the UAV high above trees, power lines and buildings enabling longer sight distances for missions requiring visual line of sight. Where regulations allow beyond-line-of-sight (BVLOS), A2Z Drone Delivery platforms are also able to conduct autonomous missions along prescribed delivery routes.
“We are thrilled to open our new worldwide headquarters in Torrance, C.A. where our growing team will continue to develop the next generation of autonomous commercial drone delivery solutions,” said Aaron Zhang, CEO and Co-Founder of A2Z Drone Delivery. “Planting our headquarters in the aerospace capital of the world ensures we have ready access to the highest quality aerospace talent and suppliers, and are able to continue the supportive relationships we have enjoyed with local government entities. From Torrance, we are able to provide in-person support for our customers, and have ready access to nearby flight test areas for flight trials and customer training.”
The new Torrance, CA headquarters mark another benchmark for the company’s rapid growth. A2Z Drone Delivery also recently expanded its Ground Zero Test Facility in Anji County outside Shanghai, China where company engineers conduct advanced autonomous BVLOS trials under real-life conditions. These consumer deliveries not only provide a valuable service to residents of the rural area but allow A2Z Drone Delivery developers to learn how people interact with its drone systems in real life, and adapt its designs to more seamlessly fit consumer demand.
In addition to residential parcel delivery, A2Z Drone Delivery solutions are being put to work by customers conducting medical deliveries, supporting first responders and search and rescue operations, streamlining offshore logistics, water sample collection, and more.
About A2Z Drone Delivery, Inc.
With its patented delivery system, A2Z Drone Delivery, Inc. is developing innovative solutions to enable safe, accurate and low-noise drone deliveries. Focused on last-mile UAV delivery systems, A2Z Drone Delivery is creating UAV delivery platforms capable of pushing drone delivery into the mainstream of logistics operations. Based in Torrance, C.A., A2Z Drone Delivery originated as a drone delivery project at Brown University in 2016 and now services customers around the world which are leveraging its technology for a diverse array of applications.
For more information visit: https://www.a2zdronedelivery.com/.
Lincolnshire Resilience Forum (LRF) has gone live with new geospatial and drone technology from Esri UK to help it better prepare for emergencies across the county, including flooding, loss of critical infrastructure, pandemics or severe weather. Image recognition and drone software are among new applications helping to create real-time intelligence and an improved understanding of potential catastrophes.
Covering over 2,000 square miles and a population of more than 750,000, the LRF’s objective is to save and protect human life, relieve suffering and contain emergencies, limiting their escalation by ensuring comprehensive readiness. One of 38 Local Resilience Forums in England, the multi-agency partnership consists of over 30 category 1 and 2 responders, including local authorities, government agencies, emergency services, NHS and health bodies, utilities and transport providers.
New systems are being used to identify unknown caravans using drone and satellite imagery, to gain a more accurate understanding of where residents need to be evacuated from the event of a major flood. Preparing for tidal inundation is a top priority for the LRF due to Lincolnshire having one of the largest single landmasses in the country at risk of such an event, along with Europe’s highest density of static caravans at more than 34,000.
Esri drone software is making aerial data capture faster and more accurate to create 3D digital twins of potentially higher-risk zones, supporting better understanding of access and evacuation points in relation to homes and other properties. The new deployment means the LRF can create digital twins more quickly, particularly for Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) locations, which involve dangerous substances such as gas and oil refineries.
“Responding to large emergencies – particularly flooding but also major transport incidents or the loss of critical infrastructure – is a crucial role of public services. With the climate crisis comes more extreme weather events, which means community resilience is even more important,” explained Steve Eason-Harris, Emergency Planning Officer at Lincolnshire County Council, who is the lead officer for GIS and Resilient Communities for the LRF.
“Lincolnshire is a large county with no motorways and few dual carriageways so response and evacuation planning is critical. These new innovations are enabling emergency planners to model risks affecting the county to maximize response, improve communication and coordination and reduce, as practicably as possible, the impacts on the wider communities of the county. Creating the new caravan dataset in particular will dramatically improve intelligence.”
Identifying static caravans is traditionally difficult due to licensing regulations, land ownership and registry data. Now with new deep learning tools available, the LRF is exploring and developing ways of employing drone and satellite imagery and GIS to identify previously unknown caravans. Tourism is the lifeblood of many coastal regions in the country but this can increase risks to coastal populations residing in caravans when holiday seasons lengthen into storm periods. In Lincolnshire, this traditionally runs from October to March.
“We’re aiming to solve a huge challenge and having the latest geospatial technology means the LRF can respond more effectively. Constant innovation is critical at the LRF, the objective being to use new systems to ensure we get the right resources to the right people at the right time,” continued Eason-Harris.
At the core of the solution lies an Esri real-time mapping dashboard, providing a common operating picture, which went live in summer 2022 and was used extensively during Storm Babet in October 2023. Available online, on mobile devices and giant touch screens in the County Emergency Centre, it integrates data from over 30 agencies to allow rapid decision-making. The system provides a faster and more advanced method of showing partners what the situation is before, during and after an emergency, compared to paper maps and spreadsheets.
Other new GIS projects at LRF include developing a workforce application for deploying, tracking and communicating with volunteers in the field to support vulnerable people who need assistance the most. The system will update the control center via a mobile app when volunteer tasks have been completed and alert the team with any requests for medical intervention or transport assistance. Data from the app will also feed directly into the mapping dashboard in the control center.
Honeywell has been selected by regional air mobility leader Lilium to provide its thermal management system for the all-electric Lilium Jet. Lilium selected Honeywell’s MicroVCS (Vapor Cycle System) to optimize cabin cooling and manage the aircraft’s electric battery temperatures, both critical functions for enabling more efficient and sustainable flight.
Honeywell and Lilium will partner to integrate the system into the Lilium Jet, which will also feature Honeywell Anthem Avionics, Honeywell-DENSO electric motors and Honeywell flight controls. The all-electric vertical takeoff and landing Lilium Jet, on track to start production later this year, will help create a more efficient, sustainable and accessible mode of high-speed, regional transportation for people and goods.
“In our collaboration with Honeywell, we’ve tapped into the numerous advantages of the MicroVCS, reinforcing the synergistic value with a single, innovative supplier providing multiple subsystems for the Lilium Jet,” said Lilium Chief Operating Officer Yves Yemsi. “Honeywell’s innovative subsystems offer a renewed perspective on aerospace possibilities.”
Honeywell’s MicroVCS high-speed, oil-free centrifugal compressor technology allows the system to be 22% lighter than conventional screw or scroll compressor-based vapor cycle cooling systems. This weight savings avoids 9,900 lbs. of CO2 emissions per year in an Advanced Air Mobility aircraft.* Additionally, the MicroVCS uses Honeywell Solstice© zd refrigerant, with an ultra-low Global Warming Potential (GWP) of 1, which is 99.9% lower than R-134a used in competitor systems. Honeywell Solstice© zd provides 10% better hot-day power efficiency than the legacy R-134a refrigerant when used in an equivalent refrigeration cycle.**
“The MicroVCS is a ready-now solution that embodies Honeywell’s dedication to creating a more sustainable future for air travel,” said Dave Shilliday, Honeywell vice president and general manager, Advanced Air Mobility. “This technology is a great fit for Advanced Air Mobility vehicles, but its versatility also enables it to be seamlessly integrated into other applications, such as business aviation and defense aircraft.”
Honeywell’s close partnership with Lilium shows its continued dedication to developing solutions that herald a more sustainable and advanced future for aviation. From autonomous technologies to thermal management solutions, Honeywell’s extensive array of aerospace products and solutions are at the forefront of the industry’s evolution.
* For a ducted, vectored thrust electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicle, with an effective lift-drag ratio of 16, flying 4,000 hours per year, and being charged from a U.S. power grid.
** Based on hot day of 40°C = International Standard Atmosphere (ISA) conditions + 25°C.
About Honeywell
Honeywell Aerospace products and services are found on virtually every commercial, defense and space aircraft. The Aerospace business unit builds aircraft engines, cockpit and cabin electronics, wireless connectivity systems, mechanical components and more. Its hardware and software solutions create more fuel-efficient aircraft, more direct and on-time flights and safer skies and airports.
For more information, visit www.honeywell.com
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