drone News Updates

Zipline International Inc., a drone-delivery company that has made thousands of medical drops in Africa, was approved by U.S. regulators to operate as a small air carrier.

TOKYO — Zipline, an American company that specializes in using autonomously flying drones to deliver medical supplies, has taken off in Japan.

Alphabet Inc.’s Wing unit elevated its leading technology official to head the company as it seeks to rapidly expand its drone delivery operations, including in the Dallas suburbs.

Walmart Inc. is expanding its efforts to offer aerial deliveries to homes, joining with startup DroneUp to begin dropping off items ranging from cans of tuna to children’s thermometers.

Alphabet Inc.’s Wing subsidiary is about to reach a milestone in the fledgling drone-delivery business: Any day now it will deliver its 100,000th package to a customer.

Nearthlab’s drones use artificial intelligence and laser technologies to help pinpoint potential damage and reduce the chance of accidents during human inspections of wind turbines.

A Deuce Drone flew some smoothies to waiting consumers June 1 in Mobile, Ala., but the real payload might have been a peek at the legislative support that drone delivery startups need in order to get off the ground.

Kroger Co. is diving into drone delivery, starting a pilot at a store near its Cincinnati headquarters.

Inmarsat Group Holdings Ltd. says it has found a way to safely fly civil drones over long distances, a step that may help pave the way for mass adoption by industries from transportation to energy and infrastructure.

On May 22, before Memorial Day, a six-foot long, red-and-white drone took off from a field in Kannapolis, N.C., flew 15 miles west over suburban Charlotte to Novant Health’s Huntersville Medical Center, and dropped a box of protective masks in a designated spot next to the parking lot.