Workhorse Group Receives Notice of Allowance for HorseFly Patent | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-04.28.25

Airborne-NextGen-04.29.25

AirborneUnlimited-04.30.25

Airborne-Unlimited-05.01.25

AirborneUnlimited-05.02.25

Fri, Feb 02, 2018

Workhorse Group Receives Notice of Allowance for HorseFly Patent

Protects The Company's Truck Launched Drone Package Delivery System

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued a notice of allowance for the HorseFly Truck Launched Drone Package Delivery System patent application. The HorseFly system adheres to all current FAA safety regulations for drone package delivery, as each package is delivered within the delivery driver's "line of sight."

The HorseFly UAV Delivery System is a custom-built, high efficiency delivery UAV that is fully integrated with the Workhorse line of electric/hybrid delivery trucks. The HorseFly system conforms to FAA guidelines for UAV operation in the U.S. Most notably, being fully integrated with delivery trucks, the system is designed such that a driver or driver's assistant can maintain line-of-sight operation of the UAV delivery process.

The truck launched drone system is designed to assist a driver as follows:

  • The truck delivery driver loads the package and launches the HorseFly drone
  • The HorseFly drone autonomously launches from the roof of the delivery truck, gains altitude and proceeds to the delivery location
  • At the delivery location the drone autonomously descends and the package is released
  • The HorseFly drone returns to the delivery truck at a planned stop and autonomously redocks and recharges for its next delivery
  • The system was first successfully tested in a rural delivery, launching the drone with package from atop a truck. The HorseFly system provides significant cost efficiency by eliminating extra miles of driving to deliver packages.

"We believe, as we proceed with the patent application process, that the HorseFly truck launched drone package delivery system will be the first major change to the last mile delivery process since the invention of the truck. The HorseFly system is designed to work with the truck driver to increase efficiency," said Steve Burns, Workhorse CEO. "We feel this is a game-changing moment in time that will innovate the way packages are delivered for many years to come."

(Source: Workhorse Group news release. Image provided)

FMI: www.workhorse.com

Advertisement

More News

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (04.30.25)

Aero Linx: Aviators Code Initiative (ACI) Innovative tools advancing aviation safety and offering a vision of excellence for aviators. The ACI materials are for use by aviation pra>[...]

ANN FAQ: Turn On Post Notifications

Make Sure You NEVER Miss A New Story From Aero-News Network Do you ever feel like you never see posts from a certain person or page on Facebook or Instagram? Here’s how you c>[...]

Classic Aero-TV: Agile Aero’s Jeff Greason--Disruptive Aerospace Innovations

From 2016 (YouTube Edition): Who You Gonna Call When You Have a Rocket Engine that Needs a Spacecraft? While at EAA AirVenture 2016, ANN CEO and Editor-In-Chief, Jim Campbell, sat >[...]

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (04.30.25)

"In my opinion, if this isn't an excessive fine, I don't know what is... The odds are good that we're gonna be seeking review in the United States Supreme Court. So we gotta muster>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (04.30.25): Expedite

Expedite Used by ATC when prompt compliance is required to avoid the development of an imminent situation. Expedite climb/descent normally indicates to a pilot that the approximate>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC