The project will develop and deploy drones that could speed the delivery of medicines, ease road congestion and the transfer of vital medical supplies as part of an emergency response. Real-time information sharing through drone technologies will allow several services to work together and act faster when responding to incidents integrating ground and air-based services that can also reduce carbon emissions.
MK council will work with Cranfield University’s Drone Innovation Hub and Satellite Applications Catapult Westcott DronePort to test and trial new drone-based services that work alongside current delivery services and autonomous vehicles.
The city council has also announced that four South Korean start-up companies specialising in future sustainable transport have chosen Milton Keynes to trial their products.
Pete Marland, leader of MK Council, said: “We’re proud to be hosting yet another trial to test future technologies in MK which will build on our reputation as a world leading smart city.
“The technologies have the potential to bring practical benefits to help people in everyday life and in time critical emergencies. If the trials are successful it will also help us meet our climate action ambitions and create new jobs of the future for local people.”
The project in Milton Keynes follows the announcement that more commercial services delivered by drones will be able to take to the skies from January 2023 after Ofcom confirmed it will start issuing spectrum licences for essential drone safety and communications equipment.
Working closely with the Government and Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), Ofcom has developed a new approach for authorising the radio equipment needed to communicate with these drones.
A spokesperson for Ofcom said: “Today, we are confirming that companies will be able to apply for a new type of spectrum licence from 20 January 2023, allowing companies to use mobile and satellite networks to enable their drone fleets to operate a wider range of services and over longer distances.”
