New trials showcase maritime drone deliveries on the Great Lakes and world-first automated water quality monitoring in the UK
by DRONELIFE Staff Writer Ian J. McNabb
British drone operator Skyports Drone Services recently announced two exciting projects on either side of the Atlantic, including a scheme to monitor water quality using automated drones and cloud-based analytics alongside a proof-of-concept designed to highlight the potential for drone deliveries across the Great Lakes region conducted in partnership with Michigan DOT.
Conducted in partnership with the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), the Michigan Office of Future Mobility and Electrification (OFME) and Newlab, the great lakes delivery trial is based out of DeTour, Michigan, and runs from May 7th-27th, 2025. The program uses a wind-resistant Speedbird DLV-2 with a payload of up to 8.8 lbs to ferry cargo to Interlake Steamship vessels via an integrated winch system. The operation looks to validate the benefits of using drones to supplement regular ship deliveries from supply boats, demonstrating the speed, safety, improved sustainability and cost benefits of maritime drone deliveries.
Light cargo such as oil samples, potable water samples, flat & small mail, and linens/laundry are being delivered during the trial. Imagined as a 3-stage process, future trials will focus on other high-value use cases for drone deliveries in the region.
“We first started delivering cargo to ships in Singapore in 2021. Since then, we’ve developed our understanding of maritime operations, and we know which use cases add value for our customers,” said Alex Brown, Director of Drone Services, Skyports. “This is our first US maritime delivery operation, and we’ll be looking to replicate the success from Singapore and Michigan to other ports around the country. Michigan has created a great innovation environment for advanced air mobility, and we’ll be kicking off several more flight campaigns in the State over the next few months”.
“Advanced aerial mobility and its infrastructure will be transformational in the way we transport goods across cities and regions in a safe, expedient, cost-efficient manner, and our department continues to lead the country in that arena,” said Bradley C. Wieferich, State Transportation Director, MDOT. “Michigan already has a robust network of aviation infrastructure, and capitalizing on that system makes the day when shipping critical products via AAM becomes a routine practice closer than ever.”
At the same time, Smart Skies, Healthy Waters, a world-first innovation that uses automated drones and real-time data analytics to monitor water quality, has been named a winner of the fifth Water Breakthrough Challenge by the Ofwat Innovation Fund. A collaboration between Northumbrian Water, Makutu, Skyports Drone Services, Newcastle University and Proteus Instruments, the partnership is designed to revolutionize an often labor-intensive process.
Combining automated drones, advanced sensors, and cloud-based analytics to deliver data directly to water companies and the general public, the new system provides vital insights into the health of coastal waters. Samples will be analysed close to the site at “lab in a box” locations, providing results in near real-time. This data will then be made public, empowering visitors to the coastal sites with information on the quality of the water.
“This project provides a ground-breaking opportunity to harness new technologies to enable more frequent monitoring of our bathing waters. It will be a world-first and a step change for our sector, helping to ensure healthier waters for our customers, communities and our environment.” said Richard Warneford, Head of Wastewater at Northumbrian Water.
Alex Brown, Director of Drone Services, Skyports, said, “Monitoring and improving the UK’s water quality is so important to all of us. With drones we can reach further, more frequently and provide better insights compared to the normal way of collecting water samples. We started working with Northumbria Water and Makutu two years ago with our first water monitoring service, and this is the latest milestone to take this service to the next step. In the future we see a large network of water monitoring drones flying Beyond Visual Line of Sight around key water sites in the UK, providing instant insights back to Northumbrian Water, as well as other utilities, allowing them to take action where required to keep our waterways clean.”
David Black, CEO of Ofwat, said, “Water underpins our society and economy, and the water sector faces a range of challenges requiring urgent solutions. The Ofwat Innovation Fund was established five years ago to incentivise the water sector to collaborate with partners across industry, charities, and academia to accelerate the pace of transformation and create lasting benefits for customers and the environment. The level of ambition of this year’s winners is remarkable. We are supporting these projects to prove their impact so that they can be scaled, not only here in England and Wales, but exported around the world as a driver of economic growth”.
The Ofwat Innovation Fund is a key pillar in Ofwat’s mission to drive innovation that ensures the water sector is ready for the challenges of the future and results in better outcomes for customers and the environment. It is delivered by innovation prize experts Challenge Works (part of the Nesta group), in partnership with Arup and Isle Utilities.
More information about Skyports and their projects is available here.
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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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