Today, Drone Delivery Canada announced that it is partnering with both Ford Motor Company and the University of Toronto Institute of Aerospace Studies on a new research endeavor that aims to test an automated drone as it tracks and lands on a moving ground vehicle within the flight arena.
Drone Delivery Canada Corp. is a drone technology company focused on the design, development, and implementation of its proprietary logistics software platform, using drones. The company’s platform will be used as a Software as a Service (SaaS) model for government and corporate organizations globally.
“As a clear leader in the drone logistics industry globally, we are pleased to be working with world-class organizations such as UTIAS and Ford to advance our technology and applications for drone delivery. We continue to move the industry forward and these advances can create further commercial use cases for drone delivery. We have a proud history of R&D which has resulted in unique and patented intellectual property and the successful commercialization of our advanced logistics solution,” said Michael Zahra, President & CEO of DDC.
“This work could greatly expand the applications quadrotor drones are useful for. The more advanced they become, the better they will be at inspecting infrastructure, search and rescue in remote environments, tracking moving objects for security, and delivering light-weight packages. We want to execute repeated landings on the moving vehicle, maintaining the relative position accuracy to within 10 centimeters, even as the speed of the target vehicle increases,” added Associate Professor Steven Waslander, University of Toronto Institute of Aerospace Studies.
“Foundational research infrastructure, coupled with world-class researchers, leads to groundbreaking discoveries,” said Ramin Farnood, U of T Engineering’s Vice-Dean of Research. “With the support of the Canada Foundation for Innovation, our U of T Engineering researchers can continue to be leaders in their field and make positive, vital contributions to our society and the economy.”
This isn’t Ford’s first foray into drone technology, as the automaker filed a patent last year for a vehicle-based drone used to help first responders locate a vehicle in the event of an accident. The automaker is also using a drone in conjunction with its Bronco Sport Off-Roadeo Adventure Patrol concept.
We’ll have more on Ford’s drone experimentation efforts soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for non-stop Ford news coverage.
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