The Drone Logistics ecosystem family is growing nicely, with the 46^th and 47^th additions walking through the door in quick succession in recent weeks.

Interestingly, the newest members are both delivery drone services providers – Switzerland-based Rigitech, which is one of the more prominent Europea-based delivery drone companies and Zing from Florida in the US.

In a major scoop for its growth, Rigitech and Biogroup, its partner in France, recently received beyond the visual line of sight (BVLOS) approval from the French civil aviation authorities to carry our autonomous delivery flights between Biogroup’s laboratories in Bourgoin-Jallieu and Tignieu-Jameyzieu.

This is a first for delivery drones in French airspace.

A result of inter-agency cooperation, the route will connect laboratories located 17.6km apart in only fifteen minutes, reducing delivery time by half. It used to be that a car would transport biological samples from local clinics to the main laboratory for processing and analysis in about 30 minutes.

“Drone regulations in Europe are constantly evolving to increase flexibility for drone operations. But because of its novelty and differences from traditional aviation, the whole industry has yet much to learn,” said Alejandro Del Estal, Head of Operations at RigiTech.

“I’m very proud to have participated in this process. These authorisations are helping the whole industry to push the limits of what can be done, without compromising on safety

In joining the DLE family RigiTech will collaborate with existing partners to standardise the drone logistic industry, with regards to technical, operation and commercialization aspects.

Adam Klaptocz, CEO and Co-Founder of RigiTech said; “A central facet of our work for the future is airspace coexistence, working towards access to airspace, deconfliction, inter-platform communication and remote supervision. Collaborating with DLE partners in the drone delivery industry helps us approach complex obstacles like improving mobile connectivity for UASs, removing the need for ground-based operators and allowing multi-drone supervision in regulations.”

Meanwhile, American delivery drone company Zing became the latest inductee into the DLE family when it was announced last week.

In its statement, DLE said Zing empowers businesses by providing them with customised drone delivery solutions theough seamless integrations with key industry players and cutting-edge technology to enable businesses to harness all the components that are necessary for regulatory compliance and scalable drone delivery operations.

“Drone delivery is currently at an inflection point in the United States,” says Ian Annase, Founder & CEO.

“The first company (Matternet) just received a Type Certificate for BVLOS operations and there are other drone hardware providers that are not far behind. Here at Zing, we build universal solutions that simplify and enhance drone delivery operations.

“We’re developing universal hardware, like our Zing Winch system, and plug-and-play software, like our Zing Xact Landing system. We believe joining the Drone Logistics Ecosystem is crucial because there are so many components of a successful drone delivery operation, and as an industry we need to work together to tie them all together and give our clients outside of the industry access to full turn-key solutions.

“Zing is committed to providing practical, innovative solutions so everyone can benefit from drone delivery.”

The statement added that since launching in 2018, Zing has built significant industry relationships, worked with communities to enhance public perception, and gained invaluable experience from our internal drone operations.

The Drone Logistics Ecosystem (DLE) is a global/virtual network of companies, universities, the public sector, and investors operating in the drone logistics industry. Its aim is to bring together stakeholders to collaborate on the standardisation of the rapidly emerging industry; hence, accelerating cross-border marketing and commercialisation of products and services of its members.

Since most of the companies in this industry are early-stage start-ups with limited access to funding, manpower and expertise, DLE is the ideal platform for companies to share their expertise to co-develop products and services and acquire necessary cross-border market access in partnership with other members.