Parcel Courier Aims for Performance with Enclosed Payload, Fixed Wings, and Tilting Rotors

Blueflite's patent for their "advanced logistics drone platform" was accepted by the US Patent and Trademark Office this month, covering the "revolutionary" design of the delivery UAV. 

The now-patented aircraft sports 2 pairs of fixed wings and 8 electric propellers mounted on swiveling arms. The central pod, unlike other delivery-oriented drones in the running, carries its cargo in the main fuselage of the UAV, breaking from conventional underslung payloads. That interior carriage aids in extending the drone's range, aerodynamics, and performance - all while protecting its cargo from inclement weather. 

In a smart little nod to its courier duties, the Blueflite drone from either the top or bottom, allowing easier customer delivery after landing - as easy as opening a cooler. The simplicity, compact footprint, and high-speed, long range, tiltrotor performance could well separate Blueflite's delivery drone from an increasingly crowded field of competition in the battle to become the standard in e-commerce shipping. While it does away with some of the more convoluted delivery mechanisms like Wing's "hover in place while lowering a doggy bag on a string" approach, its limited interior storage space may hamper takeup for stores with wide variations in payload dimensions. 

“These key features are absent from most delivery drones on the market today and we believe that these capabilities are essential to succeed in the drone logistics industry,” said Frank Noppel, Blueflite Founder and CEO. “This is just the first in a series of patents we have pending as Blueflite continues to invest in the best mobility technology for future logistics solutions.”

FMI: www.blueflite.com