Elsight's Halo system boosts Australian drone delivery potential

The advanced Halo system, developed by Elsight, can provide the connection confidence required by aerial systems to operate beyond the visual line of sight (BVLOS), enabling a significant expansion of uncrewed flights in Australia.

Elsight's technology allows drone delivery services to scale up by facilitating multiple concurrent flights operated by a single pilot. Connected certainty is a key factor enabling aerial taxis' deployment, which are anticipated to be piloted in southeast Queensland ahead of the 2032 Olympics.

The Halo communications system has attained the level of dependable connection necessary to aid Australia's developing drone delivery services and aerial taxis. Over the next two decades, these sectors are anticipated to experience significant growth.

A report from Scyne Advisory for Airservices Australia reveals an optimistic future for the Australian drone industry. It projects that drone deliveries will account for approximately 70% of all drone flights by 2043, totalling around 46 million flights.

Elsight CEO Yoav Amitai believes Halo's robust multi-link connectivity will contribute to the dramatic surge in drone flights projected over the next two decades. He stated, "Complete connection confidence is a necessary component in flying beyond the visual line of sight for the navigation and safety of unmanned vehicles. The Halo system had already proven its reliability in extensive use cases around the world in what is known as beyond the of visual line of sight or BVLOS flights,"

DroneUp, an Elsight partner, has launched an autonomous drone system designed to significantly reduce the expense of last-mile drone delivery. The system includes a climate-controlled automated storage locker, named DBX, for safe package pick-up and drop-off. Advanced software guides the drones, ensuring they know the locations and timings of package collection, and how to avoid other aircraft.

In Australia, heavier payloads are expected to be permitted for drone deliveries within approximately five years. This opens considerable business-to-consumer growth opportunities, particularly in last-mile parcel and food deliveries.

In southeast Queensland, Wings' launch followed the initiation of Swoop Aero's regional drone deliveries of pharmaceuticals in 2021 in the Goondiwindi region on the Queensland-New South Wales border. To date, only Wing Aviation Pty Ltd and Swoop Aero Pty Ltd have received CASA approval to commence drone delivery services in Australia.

The Scyne Advisory report also hypothesised that the Brisbane Olympics would trigger the evolution of aerial passenger transportation and Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) in Australia. The air taxi market is expected to emerge from this major event and extend to include regional air mobility and the development of infrastructure such as vertiports in subsequent years.

The report forecasted 750,000 annual air taxi trips in Australia by 2043. Drone flights are projected to rise from 1.5 million flights this year to 60 million flights by 2043. Amitai stated that the robust and reliable tech stack required to enable safe flights would determine whether Australia can reach 60 million drone flights by 2043.

Amitai also emphasised the economic importance of the Halo system for Australian drone operations, stating that it allows more drones to be flown per pilot, eliminating the requirement for person-based observers. He added, "The key to Halo's continuous, robust connectivity was the bonding of multiple communications channels it uses."

Amitai mentioned that the Halo system could aid the development of management systems for drone flights in Australia and was already contributing to unmanned vehicle traffic management systems being developed in other parts of the world.