Trial Space for Commercial Drones Open for Business
New Zealand’s newest fit-for-purpose test range for commercial drones has opened its skies to the world and plans to
trial the delivery of medical supplies in November.
The trial, with Medical Drones Aotearoa, will include tests that explore the safe delivery of medicines, and flights
that are beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) and autonomous - with the ability for a pilot to take control of the craft
remotely.
Test range administrator and Medical Drones Aotearoa founder, Robyn Kamira, says around 14% of patients in low
socio-economic and rural areas don’t pick up their medicines and even more ration their medicines to make them last
longer.
“The medical and crisis support drone trials will lead to a high quality, high value service that will make a real
difference to people’s lives. We’re focused on supporting communities that may otherwise be overlooked when it comes to
deploying leading edge technologies for services.”
Once the trials are complete, Medical Drones Aotearoa is aiming to start its first regular service in March 2018 pending
Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) approvals.
The CAA recently released a new regulatory framework which has opened NZ airspace to unmanned air vehicles operated by
remote, ground based pilots working under strict conditions. In combination with the new framework, the Hokianga test
range, dubbed “Incredible Skies”, provides an opportunity to extend drone technology research in New Zealand and
internationally.
The test area is 874 square kilometres in the Hokianga region and has been established as a commercial drone
technologies testing platform. It’s a place to design, build, and test drones; research and trial flights; and even
compete in drone racing. Kamira says she’s had a number of inquiries from overseas and local companies wanting to get
their CAA approvals and schedule trials. She sees the future of drones as big business.
“Analysts predict that commercial drones will be worth more than USD$11.2b by 2020 (Source: Gartner 2017) and US
researchers consider there’s a USD$13b market opportunity for drones in commercial and civil government sectors
(2016-2020) (Source: Goldman Sachs Research 2017)
Pilots of manned aircraft have recently expressed their desire to see CAA rules reviewed to keep the skies safe, and
Kamira says the Hokianga airspace is away from airports and all trials will be compliant with regulations.
“The Incredible Skies test range uses high quality trial standards that will support drone operators wanting to set
themselves apart. The processes not only meet CAA regulatory requirements but add a level of operations best practice so
that drone trialists, aviators and communities can be confident that safety is well-managed.”
Robyn Kamira is calling for drone companies and technologists to apply to take part in upcoming medical drone trials or
schedule their own by visiting the Incredible Skies website: https://www.incredibleskies.nz/
ends