Streamlining drone operations: Development of world’s first platform for certified aerials
The client
Skytango, led by Emmy-winning founder Steven Flynn, is a cloud-based platform designed for managing and streamlining certified aerial operations. They cater to businesses, training organizations, and hobbyists alike, facilitating communication, ensuring H&S compliance, and promoting best practices for drone pilots. The platform offers functionalities like real-time mapping, job management, and compliance tracking.
In partnership with Vodafone Ireland, Skytango has delivered critical diabetes medicine by drone to the Aran Islands. This achievement showcased the potential of drones for delivering essential supplies, especially in remote areas or during bad weather.
Prior to the groundbreaking medicine delivery, Skytango conducted over 100 test flights to prioritize safety, reliability, and adherence to regulations.
Client achievements:
Partnering with Vodafone Ireland, Skytango successfully completed the world’s first delivery of diabetes medicine by drone to the Aran Islands. This groundbreaking achievement showed the potential of drone technology for delivering critical supplies to remote locations, particularly during challenging weather conditions. Read more.
Skytango’s innovative platform secured recognition and a €30,000 investment by winning the NDRC Lift Off competition. This win highlights the potential of Skytango’s approach to simplify drone operations and contribute to the growth of the drone industry. Read more.
Skytango is led by Steve and Susan Flynn, a husband-and-wife team with a combined track record of excellence. Steve Flynn’s nine Emmy Awards in film and television production demonstrate their expertise in creative content creation, which is valuable for understanding the needs of drone video professionals.
Skytango’s vision for innovation extends beyond commercial applications. They collaborated with Dublin City Council to explore the potential of drone technology for environmental monitoring. This collaboration aimed to gather air quality data and empower citizens to make informed choices that contribute to a cleaner environment.
Skytango attracted investment from two Venture Capital firms during their pre-seed funding stage. This demonstrates the strong investor confidence in Skytango’s ability to disrupt the drone industry and create a valuable platform.
The challenge
Market research conducted by Ralabs revealed a critical gap in existing drone solutions. While numerous applications focused on drone control, none offered a platform for managing work, acquiring orders, and streamlining pre-flight preparation.
Drone pilots expressed a strong need for a user-friendly, field-ready application that provided them with crucial pre-flight information. This information included location data, real-time weather updates, and obstacle alerts to ensure safe and informed flight operations.
What was done
Ralabs started the project with a thorough market research phase. After identifying the needs of drone pilots, we developed a mobile application tailored for tablet use in both landscape and portrait modes. The app integrated various functionalities:
- Real-time geolocation tracking and geofencing to alert pilots about restricted areas.
- A job management system that interfaces with a web platform for creating and managing tasks.
- Checklist features for pre-flight, in-flight, and post-flight operations, ensuring compliance with safety and legal standards.
Implemented features:
AirMap integration
The app integrates AirMap service to verify airspace legality, providing real-time data on flight restrictions, air traffic releases, and location-specific documentation.
Compliance management
The app seamlessly integrates with Skytango’s backend servers through secure API calls, allowing pilots to view and manage licenses, insurance, and compliance records in a centralized location.
Pilot profiles
Drone operators can log in and fill in the profile with their license, insurance, drones types, and pending locations. They also get all their data about flight restrictions, air traffic releases, any documents that are needed to fly in that area, weather forecasts and map.
Geolocation services and Google Weather API
Provides crucial location data and real-time weather updates for pre-flight planning and in-flight operations.
Firebase integration
Facilitates backend functionalities and data management.
Mapbox integration
Offers diverse map options for superior situational awareness.
Additional features
The app facilitates the collection of aerial data (videos, photos, and surveys) with automatic location tagging. It offers the option for local device storage or cloud upload for flexibility.
Utilizing GPS location data and pre-defined geofence boundaries, the app warns pilots when entering restricted airspace, promoting safety and adherence to regulations.
Work Management Feature allows pilots to manage their work schedules, receive orders directly from clients, and communicate with them through the application.
Clients can search for qualified drone pilots on a real-time map based on their location.
Project management approach
Agile project management
Ensuring the project remained efficient and responsive to evolving requirements throughout development.
Proactive tracking
Two-week sprints, allowing for iterative development and quick adaptation to changing requirements.
Regular communication
Regular planning and retrospective meetings ensured continuous improvement and alignment with project goals.
Results:
World-first drone delivery of medicine
Skytango’s mobile app played a central role in the world’s first drone delivery of diabetes medicine by Vodafone Ireland. The app facilitated a 21.7 km flight from Connemara Airport to Inis Mór, Aran Islands. The return leg was slightly shorter, covering a total distance of 21.6 km. Read more
Long-distance, single-battery fight
The app supported a round-trip delivery exceeding 43 km, using a Wingcopter 178 Heavy Lift drone, all on a single battery charge
Global impact on remote healthcare
This pioneering trial marks a significant step forward for drone technology in improving healthcare access in remote regions. It paves the way for further research into drone corridor planning and broader use of drone-based logistics for essential medical supplies
IoT connectivity enables future planning
The flight’s successful use of Vodafone Ireland’s IoT network allowed real-time data exchange, ensuring regulatory compliance. Long-range flights can potentially be mapped using existing radio frequency networks, opening doors for wider adoption of drone-based medical supply deliveries
Improved safety and compliance
Real-time data integration (AirMap, Google Weather) within the app ensured airspace awareness and weather updates, contributing to a safe and compliant flight adhering to aviation regulations
Tech stack
Other сases
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