Glazed or frosted? Chocolate or blueberry? Drive-thru or drone-delivered?
The first two choices should be familiar to anyone who’s ordered a donut. The last one might be relevant in the not-too-distant future as drone technology takes off.
That vision was on display last week at Michigan Central’s Drone Day, when hundreds of Detroit students gathered at the technology campus to see drones in action—and to learn about training and career opportunities in advanced aerial mobility.
One of the main showcases of the day was a drone delivery that sent boxes of donuts to workers at a park on the Detroit River. Piloting the flight was Davontay Delacerda, 18, of Detroit, who took advantage of training programs at Michigan Central to obtain the FAA license needed to fly drones commercially, and now works for urban drone delivery startup Aerialoop.
“It was really exciting, at such a young age, too,” Delacerda said. “I’m just 18 and I started when I was 16. So it’s a really great journey, and pretty big things to be working for.”
Stephanie Rhoades Hume / Michigan Central
Statewide strategy: The demonstration fits into a broader effort at Michigan Central, a former train depot, to promote advanced aerial mobility and help the state become a leader in a market that is expected to grow to tens of billions of dollars in the coming years.
Leaders at the tech campus worked with the Michigan Department of Transportation to establish an Advanced Aerial Innovation Region that allows for urban testing of drone technology within a three-mile radius. The zone is equipped with a beyond-visual-line-of-sight system that helps operators monitor low-altitude airspace. Year to date, the campus has served as the launchpad for more than 800 flights.
And over the last two years, the state’s Advanced Aerial Mobility Fund has given out more than $10 million to support projects in the sector.
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“We’re building out a statewide strategy that also is inclusive of defense and commercial-related opportunities and activities,” Justine Johnson, Michigan’s chief mobility officer, told Tech Brew. Some priorities for the state include defense, agriculture tech, and B2B logistics. The auto industry, for example, could use drones to ferry components to plants.
In flight: For the donut demonstration, Michigan Central teamed up with Aerialoop and Yellow Light Coffee & Donuts to complete what was billed as the longest-ever delivery flight from the site. The 2.3-mile route took a drone transporting donuts to Hart Plaza on the Detroit River.
“This is designed to be a showcase for the future of autonomous aerial mobility and demonstrate the real-world applications of what you can do when you provide these technologies in a real-world urban environment like Detroit,” Matt Whitaker, director of Michigan Central’s mobility innovation platform, said from a rooftop featuring a 900-square-foot launchpad.
Michigan Central’s Drone Pilot Certification Training has helped more than 20 students get their FAA certifications, and the campus now offers drone programming for adults, as well.
The goal, Whitaker said, is not just to demonstrate that the tech works, but to help startups commercialize various applications and to create job opportunities for the community. He pointed to use cases like infrastructure inspection, first response, and medical delivery as some of the ways the tech can be most useful.
“We’re not here to do a one-day thing and then disappear. Demonstrations are fantastic,” he told Tech Brew. “But we want operations that are here consistently, operating at a scale that will actually truly impact our community…We want that drone flying daily, moving things between one warehouse and another, so that we can create the next generation of mobility.”