Andrews University team’s drone delivery concept advances in NASA competition

AngelWings has advanced in a NASA competition with its drone delivery concept. NASA’s MITTIC Space2Pitch is a business incubator/startup competition where teams of students from minority serving institutions conceptualise and pitch their new, innovative uses for NASA intellectual property.

The AngelWings team from Andrews University has chosen to tackle last-mile delivery challenges in underserved rural areas. Using NASA’s Near-Real Time Verification and Validation of Autonomous Flight Operations technology (TOP2-320), AngelWings is working to ensure safe, efficient, and compliant drone deliveries, including in GPS-denied environments. 

Armand Poblete, from Andrews University’s Faculty of Information Systems said the project has applications in healthcare and e-commerce, and that the team intends to lower costs and enhance access.

“From designing a hybrid-powered drone with a range of 30-35 miles to building logistics infrastructure for beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations, our two-year plan will bring AngelWings from concept to commercialisation, making an impact in the US  and Africa.” Poblete said in a LinkedIn post, adding that demonstrations of the technology were expected soon.