Sweden’s Aerit will fly drone deliveries to Norrtälje
The Swedish UAV service company Aerit has been hired to carry out test deliveries of drones around the large Norrtälje area north of Stockholm. The move comes just two months after Aerit successfully flew its first visual line of sight (BVLOS) delivery mission – only the second ever in the country.
Founded just 11 months ago, Aerit is keen to take the lead in Sweden’s thriving UAV service market. The company prepares delivery service with its own Nimbi drones, which have a winch system that does not require landing for either loading or lowering orders to customers. This month, the Swedish Innovation Agency, Vinnova, said that they will provide funding for a year-long test run of drone deliveries from Aerit to Norrtälje – the name of both the municipal seat and the surrounding county which consists of islands and vast countryside that can be reached. faster with UAV than road options.
Aerit’s selection was partly based on its successful BVLOS drone delivery in October, when one of its Nimbi UAVs flew a small food order on an autonomous, 2.7 kilometer long mission in Halland County, on Sweden’s southwest coast. It was only the second BVLOS flight in the country after the Swedish research institute RISE carried out the first during a trial in 2019. However, the Halland run was the first commercial drone delivery assignment and by extension also the first in BVLOS mode.
Aerit is now joining RISE as one of its partners in the upcoming drone delivery service to Norrtälje. These flights will also examine technical and regulatory considerations for the commercial operation of UAVs in accordance with the rules of the EU Aviation Safety Agency, which entered into force in January.
“We are very happy about this project in collaboration with some of Sweden’s leading institutions.” in Alexander Perrien, Aerits vd. “We hope to be able to show that Aerit can improve the lives of those in areas covered by our services, offset the climate impact from last – mile delivery overall and, of course, make things more comfortable for everyone involved.”
The project falls directly within the Stockholm – based company’s mission statement to try to use drone deliveries to improve access to goods and services for people regardless of where they are, personal mobility or weather and time of day. This is in line with Norrtäljet officials’ efforts to find fast, affordable and sustainable ways to facilitate the livelihood of the approximately 64,000 inhabitants spread over the region’s 2,011 square kilometers of islands and rural terrain.
– Norrtälje municipality looks forward to working with this innovative project … (and) we see several opportunities for all companies and residents in the archipelago, the countryside and in our city centers, says Norrtälje business development manager Daniel Klemserud. “We believe that this project has great potential for positive impact both environmentally and financially.”
In addition to its operations in Norrtälje, Aerit plans to launch continuous delivery services at other selected locations throughout Sweden next year.
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