The Swiss Federal Office for Civil Aviation (FOCA) has granted Matternet a certification allowing their delivery drones to fly autonomously over cities at any..
The Swiss Federal Office for Civil Aviation (FOCA) has granted Matternet a certification allowing their delivery drones to fly autonomously over cities at any time of day or night. Clearing this regulatory hurdle means that by early next year, Matternet partner Swiss Post plans to use the drones to deliver blood samples and other small parcels between hospitals in Lugano, a smaller city with a population of about 56,000.
Matternet CEO and cofounder Andreas Raptopoulos said, “This is a big milestone for us. It means we can operate our technology throughout Switzerland. This will open a big opportunity in medical and e-commerce.” He emphasized that Matternet’s systems can be flown with the push of a button, and are authorized to fly “beyond the line of sight,” in Switzerland.
Delivery drone competitors such as Zipline or Flirtey build unmanned aerial vehicles and will fly them on behalf of their clients.
