A drone successfully delivered a package to a residential area for the first time
Mar 25, 7:42 PM EDT
FOR FIRST TIME, DRONE DELIVERS PACKAGE TO RESIDENTIAL
AREA
BY SCOTT SONNER ASSOCIATED PRESS
RENO, Nev. (AP) -- A drone has successfully delivered a
package to a residential location in a small Nevada town in what its maker and
the governor of the state said Friday was the first fully autonomous urban
drone delivery in the U.S.
Flirtey CEO Matt Sweeney said the six-rotor drone flew
about a half-mile along a pre-programmed delivery route on March 10 and lowered
the package outside a vacant residence in an uninhabited area of Hawthorne,
southeast of Reno.
The route was established using GPS. A pilot and visual
observers were on standby during the flight but weren't needed, Sweeney said.
He said the package included bottled water, food and a
first-aid kit.
"Conducting the first drone delivery in an urban
setting is a major achievement, taking us closer to the day that drones make
regular deliveries to your front doorstep," Sweeney said.
Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval congratulated the company
"on successfully completing the nation's first fully autonomous urban
package delivery."
"I am thrilled that Flirtey is not only testing its
cutting-edge technology in Nevada, but also creating jobs through its
headquarters relocation to Reno," Sandoval said in a statement.
NASA is working with the drone industry and the Federal
Aviation Administration on a low-altitude air traffic control system to prevent
crashes involving drones and other low-altitude aircraft.
Flirtey conducted the first FAA-approved, rural drone
delivery in July to a rural health care clinic in Virginia.
The Nevada delivery demonstrates that advanced drone
systems allow aerial vehicles to safely navigate around buildings and deliver
packages with precision within a populated area, Sweeney said.
The company recently moved its headquarters from
Australia to Nevada. It said the recent delivery was filmed for an upcoming
ABC-TV documentary.
Hawthorne, a town of about 3,000 residents, is the home
of the Hawthorne Army Depot.
Flirtey has been conducting research and development
through a partnership with the Nevada Advanced Autonomous Systems Innovation
Center at the University of Nevada, Reno. Nevada is one of six states the FAA
has designated as unmanned aircraft systems test sites.
"This was by far one of the most successful
(unmanned aircraft systems) operations we ran and represents an advanced level
of test and development ... by Flirtey," said Chris Walach, director of
operations for the FAA-designated Nevada site.
© 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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