DEVELOPING TOMORROW’S DRONE SOLUTIONS TODAY
Welcome to A2Z Drone Delivery’s Ground Zero Test Facility in Anji County outside Shanghai, China. Like many commercial drone developers, we maintain a testing facility outside the US where local drone regulations allow our development team to test our next-generation drones and dynamic payloads beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS), a difficult task in the US and especially in the urban area around our Torrance, CA headquarters.
The research, engineering and active drone delivery services our team is conducting around the Ground Zero Test Facility ensure we are able to design the most cutting-edge autonomous delivery drones that prioritize consumer safety by delivering from altitude where spinning propellers are kept far from people and property. With a diverse topography, variable weather conditions, and a combination of rural mountains and urban centers nearby, the team is able to test in almost any real-life operations conditions.
We broke ground on our Ground Zero Test Facility in 2022 with a single engineering lab, and a rough dirt air pad from which we could launch our test aircraft. In the years that have followed, the Ground Zero Test Facility has expanded exponentially. The facility now includes environmentally controlled indoor testing bays, multiple engineering labs, temporary living quarters for visiting team members conducting long-term tests, and a fully integrated remote operation center (ROC) from which our test pilots can monitor our test fleets and multi-mission A2Z AirDock network that reaches 965 square miles around the facility.
Learn more about the daily consumer services being conducted at our Ground Zero Test Facility below.
TESTING NEXT-GEN SHARABLE MULTI-MISSION DRONE INFRASTRUCTURE
The A2Z AirDock Ecosystem is a unique type of drone docking solution that enables multiple drone services to operate across a shared network of AirDocks simultaneously, with no limitations on service range. Designed to be erected in a network to extend drone services across entire regions, the elevated AirDock Quad and AirDock Dual variants can land and automatically recharge multiple drones simultaneously. Multiple partners can own and operate an AirDock network together to minimize startup investment and operate parallel drone services throughout the ground-based dock infrastructure.
In the region surrounding the Ground Zero Test Facility, A2Z Drone Delivery works with multiple commercial partners to stand up an ever-expanding network of AirDocks conducting water resource patrols, roadway surveys, morning search and rescue, as well as last-mile aerial deliveries.
CASE STUDIES FROM GROUND ZERO AIRDOCK NETWORK
The regional AirDock network surrounding Ground Zero conducts diverse missions for diverse customers requiring diverse drone use cases. Track the growing reach and operational applications supported by this AirDock network in the case study history below.
The second phase of the shared multi-mission A2Z AirDock network expands service range to 965 square miles while broadening mission capabilities with new use cases.
Autonomous patrol of protected urban waterways, supporting water rescue, and expediting regional retail delivery with a small fleet of BVLOS drones and network of A2Z AirDocks.
Leveraging the dock network reach to serve campgrounds, trails, and resorts efficiently.
Validating repeatable dock interactions across varied weather and terrain conditions.
DIVERSE USE CASES BEING TESTED AT GROUND ZERO
In addition to controlled testing of potential new products and features, the team is also able to conduct daily missions under real-world commercial operations conditions. conditions. Learn more about the daily consumer services being conducted at our Ground Zero Test Facility below.
Medical Deliveries
During the COVID-19 pandemic, residents throughout the country were subject to mandatory stay-at-home orders. To help local residents maintain access to much needed COVID test kits and medical supplies, A2Z Drone Delivery conducted drone deliveries to homebound residents. In the remote region around our Ground Zero Test Facility, there is a large population of elderly residents that would need to trek to village medical centers to access this type of care. Our delivery drones bridged that gap while limiting their potential for further viral exposure.
Residential Deliveries
The region surrounding our Ground Zero Test Facility is quite remote, and residents looking to shop online often need to journey to the village logistics centers to collect parcels. Traveling to these village centers can be a time-consuming trip for the more remote areas. To streamline these package deliveries, A2Z Drone Delivery partnered with local logistics operators to provide on-demand drone delivery to local residents. This service has rapidly expanded, and UAV deliveries from the local logistics center now depart numerous times each day. Residential delivery services will be expanding to additional surrounding communities soon.
Food & Drink
The Ground Zero Test Facility sits amongst one of the regions most-popular eco-destinations. Surrounded by mountainous hiking trails, far-flung campgrounds, and upscale eco-resorts, the population soars when the weather is ideal. Leveraging the dynamic A2Z AirDock network being expanded throughout the county, local restaurants are able to accept electronic orders and take advantage of the massive reach of our dock network to deliver food orders rapidly to hungry customers, for a small delivery fee.
AUTONOMOUS WATER RESOURCE PATROL
Across the region, AirDock-enabled patrol missions provide repeatable coverage for reservoirs, rivers, and critical infrastructure corridors. Automated charging and relaunch cycles help maintain consistent flight cadence throughout the day, enabling rapid inspection follow-ups after weather events or alerts.
REPEATABLE INFRASTRUCTURE INSPECTION
Dock-supported survey missions enable consistent data collection along road networks without returning to a central base between surveys. This helps operators maintain coverage over larger areas, accelerate turnaround on corridor mapping, and reduce downtime between scheduled inspections.
DRONE SEARCH & RESCUE
With terrain that ranges from rural mountains to populated centers, the dock network supports rapid launch for time-sensitive missions. Operators can stage drones across the region and initiate flights quickly, improving responsiveness while maintaining repeatable operations with aerial assets always on station.
