includes a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and a master’s degree in business administration. He also has 30 years of experience leading the Canadian operations of several companies, including Staples Business Advantage, Yahoo, and Schlumberger.
Drone Operations DDC drones operate autonomously on fixed routes to specific sites. Detect-and-avoid capability is provided at the drone landing sites by ground-based radar systems with about a 12-mile range. A human operator is alerted to take control if a conflict develops with other traffic. Meanwhile, DDC is developing a proprietary detect-and-avoid system. “Today, there is really not a robust, inexpensive, lightweight,
and proven detect-and-avoid system for onboard use for a drone like the Condor,” says Zahra. He notes that sensors that can spot an aircraft out to about 1.2 miles away don’t provide enough warning to avoid a fast-moving aircraft. Other companies are working on onboard acoustic sensors,
cameras, and radar, but Zahra doesn’t think these third-party solutions are sufficient. “You need to detect aircraft 10 miles or more away, and that tends to be a bit larger, heavier, and more expensive system, and that’s what we’re working on right now.” Te Sparrow and Robin XL are designed to fly into a
Canadian company provides autonomous BVLOS deliveries to remote communities.
cloud-based FLYTE platform also tracks all logistics related to the flight and cargo. It schedules deliveries, monitors shipments and waybills, tracks temperatures for sensitive cargo, runs maintenance logs, and can be integrated into a customer’s logistics software. Te software is airframe agnostic and can be used with both crewed and uncrewed aircraft, including helicopters and UASs. DDC monitors the drones from its NASA-like, 24/7 drone
operational control center in Vaughan, Ontario, just north of Toronto. DDC owns the drones and infrastructure while providing FLYTE as a turnkey system that is sold as a man- aged service to customers. FLYTE has half a dozen customers so far and has been earning revenue for a year. “FLYTE runs automatically, and we just monitor it,” says DDC President and CEO Michael Zahra, whose resume
boxlike structure or “drone spot” that the company places at departure and destination sites. Te drones transition from GPS-guided navigation to optical guidance by locking onto a marker that looks like a bar code on the floor of the drone spot. Te onboard optical sensor then allows the drone to make a precise landing without hitting any of the walls of the containerlike landing spot. “We lock onto the bar code, and it’s a more secure way to
land,” says Zahra. Te drone landing site is secure. Access is monitored by
cameras, and the area is fenced to keep people and wild animals out. While people load and unload cargo in the drone spot, computers check the battery charge of the drone and monitor the weather. Bar-code scanners track packages being loaded onto or unloaded from the aircraft. Te drone spot can even have a retractable roof, depending on customer requirements for high-value cargo. “Our approach is to augment traditional cargo transpor-
tation where it makes more sense because of cost effectiveness and availability,” says Zahra, adding that his company’s drones can launch quickly, with no need to schedule a pilot. Te company is in talks with oil-and-gas companies, mine oper- ators, and large helicopter companies about using its logistics system and drones. “Helicopter companies understand that we’re going to compete with them. Some realize they’ll be better off working
DECEMBER 2021 ROTOR 37
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