Drone in a box

In January 2021, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved the first fully autonomous commercial drone flights. A company based in Massachusetts was granted the permission to operate drones without hands-on control or direct observation by a pilot. Although this is only allowed in rural areas in altitudes up to 122 metres (400 foot), the permission is still a significant step towards the extension of the commercial use of drones for farmers, postal organisations, power plant operators and other customers.

motion plastics for the drone box

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Application areas

There are several application areas for the drone in a box - below are some examples:

• In the security industry, the concept is used to start the alarm in case of an emergency, to fly to the place where the alarm occurred and to take pictures of the scene. Regular, planned patrol flights are also possible. Furthermore, companies have already used the technology to make big events safer.
• In agriculture, the concept is already being successfully used for inspection and measuring tasks. With special cameras on the drone, it is possible to recognise changes in the vegetation at an early stage.
• In the maintenance of factories or power plants, drones in a box are used to stream aerial views and data of the plants to the staff in real time. This can help detect, e.g. gas/water leaks or necessary maintenance work.
• In many parts of the world, packing stations have become a useful way of dropping off parcels irrespective of the time. If these stations were extended by starting and landing places for drones, many package deliveries could be automated in future.

Application example