Brazil's National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) has authorised Speedbird Aero to use its parachute-equipped drones to make deliveries, becoming the first of its kind greenlit for use in the country.
Speedbird Aero conducting tests for its DLV-1 NEO in December 2021. Credit: Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil (ANAC)
Billed as a beyond visual line of sight (BVLS) craft, which means it can operate outside of the traditional range of drones - meaning it is no longer in the line of sight of the operator - it is also the first multirotor drone design certified in Brazil.
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The drone has been cleared to carry packages of up to 2.5kg of primarily food and other smaller products, within a radius of 3km in both urban and rural areas.
Its use opens the door for the burgeoning drone sector in the South American country, which could make short-to-medium range delivery services more efficient and remove factors such as congestion from delivery times.
The drone's authorisation is the culmination of more than eight months' work between ANAC representatives and Speedbird Aero tech, which included multiple tests and parachute deployments.
It is likely the drones are equipped with parachutes to minimise damage should the drone falter mid-flight, or to prevent potential damage to anything it could crash into.
The ANAC laid out other safety practices that were conducted during the tests, such as not flying over people, attempting to divert away from or ignore sources of electrical disruption, and observing the minimum and maximum altitudes in different types of weather.
“In the process that led to this approval, technical characteristics were explored, based on safety requirements. The use of drones to deliver goods is one of the most anticipated applications of the technology. Brazil is at the forefront", the Agency's Airworthiness Superintendent Roberto José Honorato said in a statement.
An operational test for the drone conducted in November 2021. Credit: Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil (ANAC)
Drone delivery and other similar services offer huge opportunities in Brazil. It is the world's fifth-largest country and sixth-largest in terms of population. Outside of use in the retail and healthcare sectors, drones could be used in some of Brazil's other major industries, such as mining and energy, likely both also involving delivery services.
In addition, future jobs such as cargo delivery and advanced air mobility could be transformative for the entire continent.
The drone's safety systems were also handled by drone safety experts ParaZero.
“We’re incredibly proud to be breaking new ground in urban air mobility", says Aaron Gabriel Gliner, ParaZero Director of Business Development and Regulation.
“Speedbird Aero’s achievement will pave the way for advanced drone operations across the country. Drone delivery is a transformative technology – it has the power to revolutionise logistics", he added.
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Speedbird Aero's CPO Samuel Salomão said his company was "fully committed to flying safely first, in order to deliver an efficient and carbon-reduced drone delivery operation".
ParaZero's CEO stated that in Brazil, offering drones for delivery services "is only the beginning".
"As regulations allow, advanced drone operations will provide tremendous benefit for people and businesses across the country", he added.
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