The Matternet: The Age of Autonomous Transport

Written by Andre Louis-Ferdinand

Last week, I did a test with one of my advanced drones. I decided to fly it one mile away with spotters across the one mile route, to be in compliance with the FAA VLOS (visual line of sight) rule of the drone at all times, and drop off a set of keys from a flat hook. However, I decided to take it one step further. Using my drone's software, I built the route ahead of time so it could be flown autonomously to the ground and back to me.

Initially, I was nervous. I mean, flying your drone a mile away and trusting coworkers to radio you in time before you possibly run into trouble? Obviously, I planned this the best we possibly could, but I was still nervous. However, my nervousness was completely unwarranted. The drone took off, flew the route, landed at the right spot, dropped of the payload, took off, and flew back without the slightest hitch. Needless to say, I was impressed. Could we practically see autonomous drone transport in the near future?

Successful Silicon Valley drone startup Matternet doesn’t have the name-brand recognition (or deep pockets) of tech titans like Google or Amazon, but while those companies have dominated the conversation about using drones in recent months, Matternet has quietly deployed its own delivery drone technology in real-world scenarios. It is contracting with other companies in countries with more progressive views on drones to do testing on this concept.

For example, the Swiss postal service, Swiss Post, is going to attempt drone deliveries for the first time ever using Matternet. The first tests happened in Switzerland at the end of the summer as proof of concept “to clarify the legal framework, consider local conditions and explore the technical and business capabilities of the drones.”

"At the moment, real-world implementation of autonomous drones includes express delivery of goods in areas cut off by unfavorable weather or the delivery of urgent consignments like laboratory tests." Are you ready for your disaster supply package to come by drone? For more on this, click HERE.