Do City Delivery Drones Make Sense? Nobody Knows, But They’re Flying Over NYC

It’s a bird, and an airplane, a six-winged flying car with about eight wings.

For the next year, drones operated by the British company Skyports will make daily trips across the East River in New York City, between the tip of Manhattan and the ferry in Brooklyn. Since the beginning of May – a little while back – drones have been carrying light medical supplies in New York City. Right now, the stock is basically a few pounds of paper; If the health system is still confident that the implementation will work, it should include non-hazardous, non-natural packages, such as light medicine.

The drones are part of an experiment run by two New York-New Jersey agencies to find out what’s new and when. opposites Sky-going technology can penetrate the busiest urban areas and the airspace above them. The pilot program will also try to answer the question that hangs over all drone delivery companies: Where does it make sense?

“Will there be enough flights (1 to 2 per hour) for the customer service to have a real benefit?” Stephan Pezdek, director of cargo planning at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which is working on the pilot, wrote in an email to WIRED. (The Port Authority declined to name the health plan for contract reasons.) “Will the shipments get to their destinations quickly and within the financial constraints of the carriers that are currently using them? Will the community appreciate the service and not feel like it’s intrusive?

The Port Authority, which is also working with the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCDEC) on this drone project, will also test how the delivery affects patient care, Pezdek says.

Globally, drone deployment is still in the experimental phase. The projects that exist are mainly focused on transporting goods to rural or urban areas, where the availability of roads and services, as well as empty space, can make this technology even better. Skyports has been delivering mail to remote areas of Scotland since 2023, transporting goods to wind turbines in Germany. US-based company Zipline says it ships to and from nearly 5,000 hospitals on four continents; its oldest program they provide vaccines and blood products in Rwanda. In the US, companies including Alphabet’s Wing and Amazon’s Prime Air are trying to expand South delivery serviceslooking at rural areas around HoustonAustin, and Dallas, Texas.

For drones, dense cities present different challenges. First, there is the question of security. New York City’s airport is crowded, with three international airports. In Manhattan alone, there are three manned heliports. In May 2023, approximately 9,000 helicopter flights took place on land or in water, according to the data is generated and the New York City Council. The initial pilot date for the drone program was pushed back in favor of another experimental flight technology, electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL), was making its first flights of its kind from the same heliport.

The aforementioned speed leads to increased security. The pilot’s work was, as usual, approved by the US Federal Aviation Administration, which requires a certified pilot to fly every plane. Each flight will take place on a fixed route away from residential buildings. The project must get a permit from the NYPD every week to operate, and the delay in getting the first one has caused the city to push back the start date, said Amanda Kwan, a spokeswoman for the Port Authority. The agency also spoke to three local boards before allowing the drones to fly.