The City of Palo Alto, California, is exploring two proposed drone concepts for the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration Pilot Program.
The City recently learned that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is undertaking a limited number of pilot projects to facilitate the establishment of safe commercial Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS, a.k.a. UAV) operations while connecting local and national interests. The program requires a state, local, or tribal government agency serve as lead applicant, in partnership with private sector entities such as UAS operators or manufacturers.
The City has been approached by prospective partners with two operational concepts. The first involves Stanford Blood Center, in partnership with UAS manufacturer Matternet. Stanford and Matternet propose to address potential emergency medical needs by establishing an approved flight path (anticipated west of Junipero Serra Blvd) and operating procedure enabling the delivery of blood samples from the Stanford Blood Center at the Stanford Research Park to Stanford Hospital.
The second concept, from German UAS manufacturer Multirotor, proposes exploration of various potential business use cases associated with various operational flight procedures at Palo Alto Airport. This includes the avoidance of conflicts between UAVs and manned aircraft, as well detection and avoidance of airfield conflicts with wildlife or debris. Additional City uses could also be identified for future evaluation, such as public safety search operations and utility infrastructure safety inspections, but would only be pursued after adequate public outreach and City Council approval.
Source: City of Palo Alto