A Zipline P1 drone flies over the city of Muhanga, Rwanda. [Courtesy: Zipline]
Key Takeaways:
Zipline completed the first drone delivery in the U.S. operating beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) without requiring human visual observers (VOs), a significant regulatory milestone enabled by its onboard acoustic detect and avoid (DAA) system.
This FAA waiver is considered a "holy grail" for scaling drone delivery, allowing Zipline to greatly expand its service areas, undertake longer routes, and potentially reduce operational costs by removing the need for human monitoring.
While marking a major advancement for the drone delivery industry, Zipline's DAA technology is currently the subject of an ongoing patent infringement lawsuit.
If a delivery drone flies and nobody is there to see it, did it really fly?
Trick question—the FAA requires commercial drone operators to station humans on the ground, called visual observers (VOs), to keep an eye on every flight. So, the aircraft technically aren’t allowed to fly where no one sees them.
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Jack is a staff writer covering advanced air mobility, including everything from drones to unmanned aircraft systems to space travel—and a whole lot more. He spent close to two years reporting on drone delivery for FreightWaves, covering the biggest news and developments in the space and connecting with industry executives and experts. Jack is also a basketball aficionado, a frequent traveler and a lover of all things logistics.
