New Infrastructure Supports Waterway Patrol, Rescue, and Retail Delivery in Anji, China
A2Z Drone Delivery has introduced a multi-use drone dock network operating beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS). This innovative system supports urban waterway patrols, water rescue operations, and regional retail deliveries in Anji City, China. The rollout represents the company’s initial foray as a drone service provider.
Using its recently released A2Z AirDock system and Longtail UAV platform, the company enables a single operator to manage a fleet of four drones simultaneously. The drones conduct autonomous patrols of protected waterways, deliver flotation devices for water rescues, and perform retail deliveries.
Addressing Urban Waterway Challenges
The Anji Bureau of Water Resources is partnering with A2Z Drone Delivery to improve oversight of urban waterways. The Bureau is leveraging the drone network to monitor illegal dumping, unauthorized activities, and other concerns. According to ChongShan Wan, director of the Bureau, the system provides significant efficiencies:
“With our water sources navigating much of the urban center of Anji City, it has traditionally required a great deal of manpower and resources to patrol those areas with standard ground vehicles and personnel. We recognized the transformative efficiencies of autonomous unmanned aerial patrols to deliver near real-time monitoring of our water infrastructure, especially amongst our high-traffic urban centers.”
Equipped with high-resolution and infrared cameras, the drones deliver real-time surveillance footage. A2Z’s technology also enables drones to communicate with people on the ground via megaphones and illuminate areas with LED lights for better visibility.
Dual-Use Drones Enhance Efficiency
When not patrolling waterways, the drone fleet is available for local food delivery services. Sharing the infrastructure allows businesses to use drones for deliveries at lower costs compared to standalone systems.
Aaron Zhang, CEO of A2Z Drone Delivery, emphasized the versatility of the system:
“This first deployment of our shared dock network in support of the Anji Bureau of Water Resources is delivering massive manpower savings for their reservoir oversight, mitigating the emissions of traditional terrestrial vehicle patrol and delivering real-time actionable patrol footage more efficiently than ever before, all while simultaneously supporting life-saving payload deliveries within the network as well as local food delivery.”
Expanding the Network
Currently, the network consists of eight AirDocks and covers 37 kilometers of urban waterways. The drones patrol these routes autonomously, reducing inspection times from several days to just 1.5 hours. The phased rollout will expand the network to cover the entire 1,800-square-kilometer county, further enhancing waterway safety and supporting additional retail delivery services.
Upcoming Webinar
To learn more about this project, A2Z Drone Delivery will host a webinar on February 19, 2024. For details and registration, visit A2Z Drone Delivery’s event page.
For more information about A2Z Drone Delivery and its AirDock system, visit A2Z Drone Delivery’s website.
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Miriam McNabb is the Editor-in-Chief of DRONELIFE and CEO of JobForDrones, a professional drone services marketplace, and a fascinated observer of the emerging drone industry and the regulatory environment for drones. Miriam has penned over 3,000 articles focused on the commercial drone space and is an international speaker and recognized figure in the industry. Miriam has a degree from the University of Chicago and over 20 years of experience in high tech sales and marketing for new technologies.
For drone industry consulting or writing, Email Miriam.
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