First flight for UK drone delivery
Open Skies Cornwall has made its first flight in urban environment as part of the UK’s first Skyhighways for drone delivery.
Ten companies and organisations have joined together on four airspace environments for the development of the next generation of unmanned aircraft in Cornwall and established a network of ‘Skyhighways’ to connect remote communities.
The £2.4m Open Skies Cornwall R&D funding will allow partners to test, and consult on Skyhighway routes and infrastructure prior to future adoption in 2023-4.
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The project saw the UK’s first urban maritime drone flights between three sites in the newly designed Falmouth Harbour Maritime Drone Testbed Airspace Environment which has become the UK’s first Drone Friendly Harbour with a focus on supporting next generation maritime logistic capabilities.
DronePrep also launched the Drone Delivery Register, an online tool designed to showcase how landowners, the public and businesses can suggest landing locations to support lifeline medical delivery and parcel delivery services in the region.
Consultation responses from the Drone Delivery Register received in January 2023 will enable the Open Skies Cornwall project partners including Skyports Drone Services, Royal Mail, the NHS, the University of Southampton and Falmouth Harbour to use drones.
The flights performed in Falmouth Harbour are a continuation of trials and demonstrations performed in 2021 by DronePrep, Windracers, Skyports Drone Services and Royal Mail between the mainland and within the Isles of Scilly.
“As we enter 2023 it is very exciting to see the Open Skies Cornwall programme taking flight,” said Gareth Whatmore, CEO of DronePrep and Project Architect of Open Skies Cornwall.
“The Ffirst demonstration flight within the Falmouth Harbour Testbed is the first of many pioneering flights in our unique airspace environments; over the next two years we will be using the intelligence gathered from the community via the Drone Delivery Register to plan for meaningful drone deliveries to support maritime, essential healthcare logistics and parcel delivery.”
app.dronedeliveryregister.com/
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