Matternet

The Federal Aviation Administration last week granted approval for UPS to operate unmanned aerial vehicles to deliver parcels on university and hospital campuses.

First FAA sanctioned use of a drone for routine revenue flights involving the transport of a product under a contractual delivery agreement.

The dream of personal aerial transport appears tantalizingly within reach, as investors from Silicon Valley to Dubai vow to deliver the future of urban mobility, but rather than embracing that vision, policymakers should consider why flying vehicles are not only unpractical but also unnecessary.

New strategic future initiative adVANce and Vision Van: Mercedes-Benz Vans is presenting the van of the future, and it's intelligent, interconnected, electric, and uses drones for delivery.

Mercedes-Benz invests in Matternet to integrate vans and drones to change how people receive lightweight goods on demand; Matternet unveils its second generation drone.

For Amazon, which seems determined to lead the field in drone delivery, the answer might come from a recently approved patent: docking stations for drones, installed on existing streetlights and various towers.

This paper provides information on drones, including drone technology and design, the potential uses for drones in various markets and industries, ongoing federal efforts to regulate drones, and how unmanned aircraft could change the way we live and work.

The three companies are investigating specific uses of drone technology and examining the cost-effectiveness of these business ideas for the commercial use of logistics drones.

Jeff Bezos says we're four or five years from drones being able to deliver small packages right to your house, largely because the company has to work with the FAA to make sure it's legally allowed to run the Prime Air program.

"I believe we’re witnessing the birth of a new transportation mode, one that will take many years to develop and mature (but will probably happen sooner than we think)."