Zipline announces acoustic-based detection and avoidance system for drones
Unmanned aircraft system (UAS) logistics firm Zipline has announced its new Detection and Avoidance system for drones, which will enable unmanned aircraft to detect risks at a distance
The system employs onboard ‘acoustic-based’ technology capable of providing 360-degree awareness at a range of over a mile, allowing the drone to monitor the airspace of other aircraft and adjust its flight path accordingly.
The system is intended to provide a more affordable, lightweight alternative to traditional DAA systems, which have traditionally relied on a combination of bulky onboard hardware and ground-based systems.
Zipline has already integrated the new DAA system into its drones and is reportedly ready to begin use of it pending regulatory approval.
According to Keenan Wyrobek, Zipline’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO), the DAA system has been designed to be ‘agile enough to operate with the finest of margins, and can think for itself and adjust in real-time’.
He added that the system has undergone multiple years of development, as well as ‘hundreds of thousands of flight hours’.
Zipline is one of a number of drone-based logistics firms planning to develop delivery networks around the world. The company opened its first distribution center in Kaduna state, Nigeria, on 3 June, which will be used to deliver medicine, blood, vaccines and other medical equipment across the region. The company is also developing a similar network in Bayelsa state, as well as in the US state of North Carolina.