Drone

DRONE DELIVERY

LEADERS OF THE DRONE PACK

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DRONE DELIVERY CANADA

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I PROFILE

Drone Delivery Canada is a publicly traded, award winning company focused on designing, developing, and implementing commercially viable, drone-based delivery systems. CEO Steve Magirias explained to Hannah Barnett how the company is disrupting the logistics market.

AT

Drone Delivery Canada, for

test flights. We go to full production once

operations to run smoothly,

we’ve validated all the checks and bal-

a close relationship with its

ances to ensure everything is working

customer base is paramount. The company

together, and then we fly based on the

provides a complete turnkey logistics

customer’s schedule.”

solution, including a proprietary software system known as FLYTE, alongside hard-

An overview of innovation

ware and professional services. This allows

Drone Delivery Canada, located in

for a safe and secure autonomous cargo

Vaughan, near Toronto, was founded

delivery process from depot to depot.

in 2014 to provide a disruptive, advanced

“We don’t just sell a drone, and leave

drone logistics infrastructure solution.

the customer to their own devices,” said

Company contracts in commercial and

Steve Magirias, CEO. “We run a managed

industrial applications include, but are

service. This means we work with the

not limited to, emergency and medical

client; we evaluate the best possible

services, mining, the oil and gas sector,

route, implement everything, and do the

parcel delivery, and providing goods to

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DRONE DELIVERY CANADA

I PROFILE

remote communities, both indigenous and nonindigenous.

For its first five years, DDC was dedicated to development and prototyping. A big milestone was reached in 2019, when the company commenced commercial routes and developed a strong relationship with the Canadian regulator, Transport Canada.

“Getting something flying commercially really helped propel the company, by giving

Drone Delivery Canada CEO Steve Magirias

us legitimacy and raising additional funding in order to keep advancing the development of our products and growing to where we are today,” Mr. Magirias said.

Aviation safety and regulatory compliance

Scaling-up with EIA and more One of the company’s milestone

is of the utmost importance to the company.

partnerships began in 2019 with Edmonton

This includes risk assessments, a safety

International Airport (EIA). It is a collabora-

management system, operational training

tion with Ziing and Apple Express and came

programs, and a HSE reporting processes,

about through DDC’s 10-year strategic

similar to those used in commercial aviation.

relationship with Air Canada Cargo.

“We are focused on getting the tech-

The project used drones to transport

nology to the point where it can be scaled

cargo and parcels between the airport and

up,” Mr. Magirias explained. “Although we

nearby industrial areas, improving logistics

want to have as much of a market share

and reducing ground transportation and

and the highest revenue as possible,

road congestion. It also demonstrates the

the main priority for us is to advance the

efficiency, safety, and reliability of DDC’s

technology forward to a fully autonomous

drone delivery platform.

solution that complies with regulations.”

“One of the challenges on the EIA project was complying with Transport Canada and Nav Canada, so as to not disrupt the flight path of the planes,” Mr. Magirias explained.

“Typically, the sweet spot to fly a drone is between 300 and 400 feet. At Edmonton Airport we are flying as low as 50 feet.

We must ensure we meet the requirements and avoid any situations where we have to deconflict with regular airport traffic.”

In 2022, as the first drone operation on international airport grounds, DDC won an

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XCELLENCE Award for innovation from the

Memorial Hospital. At 13.4km, it is DDC’s

Association for Uncrewed Vehicles Systems

longest commercial route to date, and the

International (AUVSI).

drone covers the distance in just under 15

With phase two in the planning stages,

minutes. The long-term goal is to establish

and a three-month extension recently

a full ecosystem of drones delivering

announced on the contract, DDC hopes

between multiple hospitals.

to continue to add value for its airport

One of DDC’s standout projects was

partners. “EIA are extremely focused

delivering Covid 19 test kits and pharma-

on advancements in technology,”

ceuticals from the village of Fraser Lake,

Mr. Magirias said. “They’ve been big

across the water to the Stellat’en First

supporters of ours throughout the whole

Nation community in British Colombia. “This

process and are a great team of people

was the first pilot project,” Mr. Magirias

to work with.”

explained. “But it’s very innovative. It was

Another arm of the deliveries sector has

the first of its kind that we know of, at least

involved distributing medical isotopes from

within Canada. We’re looking forward to

the DSV depot to the Oakville Trafalgar

more projects in that sector.”

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DRONE DELIVERY CANADA

I PROFILE

FLYTE is right

FLYTE also offers a sophisticated logis-

FLYTE is DDC’s flagship virtual flight

tics system including real time package

management software that allows for

tracking, delivery notifications, scheduling,

secure automated operations, monitoring

monitoring logs for temperature-sensitive

of commercial air traffic, weather, and other

cargo, and maintenance records of all

data, from the Operations Control Centre.

drones including their components.

“Our FLYTE software controls everything,”

To complement a customers’ existing

Mr. Magirias said. “It’s the heart and the

supply chain, FLYTE can be easily integrated

brains, if you will. It’s a requirement within

with internal logistics software via APIs.

Canada that every flight has a remote

“We don’t just sell the hardware, what a

pilot in command. So anytime we fly for

customer gets is a full logistics solution that

commercial reasons, or for development

can deliver the cargo where it’s needed,”

testing, our team is monitoring all the flights

Mr. Magirias added.

from our Operations Control Centre at our headquarters. The software helps us pre-

The future of drones

program the route and the waypoints as

As the market for drones continues to

well as monitor every aspect involved in

expand, DDC has set its sights on eventual

each flight.”

expansion to the United States, where the

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DDC also wants to strengthen and maintain its sustainable credentials. When roughly 80% of all packages delivered across Canada are less than five pounds in weight, drone delivery is a sustainable option compared to a gas guzzling truck.

The same could be said of a drone’s potential in the food delivery space. That is not all they can do, though, as some of the innovative sectors DDC is operating in makes clear.

“Most people will look at the convenience of drone delivery,” Mr. Magirias concluded.

“But there also could be a lifesaving aspect when it comes to wildfires and getting drones to do things that would otherwise put humans in danger. There’s a lot of good that can come from drones, along with delivering people’s coffee and things like that.

“I think the future is bright and drones sector is already much larger, and globally.

will make a big difference. It’s really not a

This will mean continuing to consolidate its

question of if, but when.”

n

current position and retaining strong business relationships. The company meets with suppliers every quarter to keep its partners abreast of new developments.

“We have a few key suppliers,” Mr. Magirias said. “Some are used by others in the industry, some are proprietary using our technology. The main goal is to have open communication and regular dialogue, so they understand where we’re going and what our expectations are going forward.

Ultimately, they’re a business and have an eye on revenue for themselves too. When you’re trying to beat down suppliers on price, it doesn’t build a great relationship.

We want a relationship of transparency.”

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