Zing, a Florida-based end-to-end drone delivery platform which builds autonomous flight software and aerial logistics hardware, joins BEYOND to develop and scale their drone delivery operations. This joint venture will enable rapid and eco-friendly drone delivery to every suburban neighborhood throughout the world.
This platform allows licensed drone pilots from anywhere in the country to use their DJI drones, a Zing delivery kit, and an app to accept drone delivery jobs from consumers. By joining the BEYOND program, Zing is taking the next step in the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Integration Pilot Program, to test their platform in Kansas, also known as the aviation capital of the world, because it is leading the integration of drones within the airspace of the United States.
This means that the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) has joined a partnership with Zing to test package delivery operations through the Federal Aviation Association’s (FAA’s) new BEYOND program. The program is focusing on expanding operations that are Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS), thereby improving public perception of Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS), as well as quantifying the economic and societal impacts of these advanced operations.
The former U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Elaine L. Chao, made the following announcement:
“The three years of information gathered under the drone Integration Pilot Program (IPP) will be applied to a new initiative called BEYOND which will further advance the safe integration of drones into our national air space. The IPP propelled the American drone industry forward, allowing for unprecedented expansions in testing and operations through innovative private-public partnerships across the country. Now, the BEYOND program will build upon this success, tackling the next big challenges facing drone integration.”*
Michael Kratsios, U.S. Chief Technology Officer, stated:
“The IPP propelled the American drone industry forward, allowing for unprecedented expansions in testing and operations through innovative private-public partnerships across the country. Now, the BEYOND program will build upon this success, tackling the next big challenges facing drone integration.”*
The Founder and CEO of Zing, Ian Annase, made the following statement:
“It is an honor to be a part of the exclusive group of partners in Kansas who will be testing and implementing these cutting edge operations. We are grateful for the opportunity to be one of the first to implement and scale package delivery use cases that are Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS). We are especially excited to be testing and implementing NASA’s Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) system into our end-to-end drone delivery platform.”*
Even though drone delivery has been slow to scale because it is still limited primarily to experimental projects with specialized drones, with an app for pilots and one for consumers, the Zing drone delivery platform is developing the peer to peer business model for drone delivery. This means using an existing network of Part 107 pilots and their pervasive DJI commercial, off the shelf (COTS) drones, could spread drone delivery across the country quickly.
Future
By participating with BEYOND, Zing joins major players in the drone industry that can bring drone delivery to a nearby neighborhood.
