Kongsberg Geospatial’s IRIS Terminal deployed for Maryland medical drone deliveries

Kongsberg Geospatial has deployed its IRIS Terminal at the University of Maryland’s (UMD) UAS Research and Operations Center (UROC), where it will support beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations for medical drone deliveries.

The system is being used to enable safe and scalable flights across the Chesapeake Bay to Smith Island, in partnership with UMD’s work in uncrewed aviation research, regulatory development, and national airspace integration.

“IRIS Terminal provides real-time, map-centric situational awareness by fusing ownship telemetry and multiple cooperative and non-cooperative surveillance feeds into a single operating picture,” said Kongsberg Geospatial. “At UMD UROC, the deployment integrates ownship telemetry via MAVLink with Echodyne EchoGuard and EchoShield radars, MatrixSpace radars and pingStation ADS-B receivers to enhance airspace visibility and operational safety for the Smith Island medical logistics corridor.”

The route connects Crisfield, Maryland, with Smith Island – a community where access to healthcare is often affected by weather and transportation challenges. By combining multi-sensor fusion with configurable geofences, alerting tools and audit-ready data logging, IRIS Terminal provides UROC’s flight teams with the situational awareness and operational tools required to safely plan and execute complex BVLOS missions.

The Smith Island medical drone delivery program is backed by State of Maryland funding announced in late 2024.

The AirMed&Rescue team recently spoke to experts about how drones are changing the way emergency missions are being performed.