Dutch drone manufacturer, Acecore Technologies, was invited to demonstrate their drone delivery solution at the Netherlands’ largest airport, Schiphol Amsterdam. The Dutch ASNP (LVNL) saw the opportunity to test several innovative drone applications after the air traffic was greatly reduced as a result of the ongoing health crisis.
Drone delivery and runway inspection
Working together with Dutch Drone Delta, Schiphol aimed to test the technical as well as the social aspect of drones flying at an active airport. Under the temporary exemption and in close contact with the ASNP, drones were allowed to fly in the CTR to test applications such as runway inspection and delivery of airplane parts across the airport.
Acecore demonstrated their tried-and-true Neo octocopter that offers a 25 minute flight time with added motor and critical component redundancy, as well as AES256 encryption. The drone was fitted with Acecore’s maglock cargo module. This remote controlled electro magnetic link can hold two packages up to 9 kilograms total, released on command by the operator. A compact gimbal stabilized 10x optical zoom camera can be used for orientation at the drop site.
The biggest advantage of using drones for these deliveries is the speed at which the part can be delivered to the airplane mechanics. Currently these packages are being transported by car, maneuvering through the airport. Obviously, drones can fly over the airport in a straight line, vastly cutting down on the delivery time of the component.
On the controversy of flying drones at an active airport, Jorrit Linders (CEO/ Founder of Acecore Technologies) said the following:
“While most people will think we’re insane for flying our drone at The Netherlands’ largest airport, I actually think it’s one of the safer environments to do testing. The control tower oversees everything that goes on and is able to guide the licensed drone operators to a safe mission.”
Source: Press Release