Hijacking and theft are not the only issues that plague today’s air delivery drones; their weight and high delivery costs are also major concerns. Airbound is a startup aiming to address these challenges by drastically reducing the weight of drone hardware by an impressive 30 times. This reduction could lead to delivery expenses of "just a few cents" when their technology is adopted at scale. Recently, the company emerged from obscurity with a seed funding round of $1.7 million. Their list of investors includes several unnamed angel investors, along with Lightspeed and gradCapital.
Innovative Drone Design
According to their press release, Airbound's blended wing body tailsitter design, called TRT, is designed to "reduce delivery costs by two orders of magnitude compared to traditional options." This drone not only promises to be the lightest but also the safest in the market. The current design already weighs three times less than its main competitors and boasts a fourfold enhancement in aerodynamic efficiency.
Commitment to Excellence
"We looked at every system in our vehicles to cut down weight, boost safety and reliability, and improve efficiency. We created new techniques to make carbon fiber, allowing us to drop our airframe weight from 6 pounds to just 400 grams. Our mission isn't solely about crafting a top-notch drone—we envision a future where delivery is virtually free," states Naman Pushp, the Founder and CEO of Airbound.
At present, Airbound is employing the TRT drone for medical deliveries, particularly for transporting blood samples to testing facilities. They plan to expand their services to include food and grocery deliveries, although the timeline for this is still unclear. The company has reported that their drones have already flown "thousands of kilometers."
