Students in our high school drone club continue to innovate on the applications of drone technology to create and promote solutions to real-life issues. Last week on campus, the Phoenix Squadron team tested their Drone Delivery System (DDS).
This project was led by Simon J. (G11). Under the mentorship of Dr. Peter Tong, he was able to develop a drone delivery system that is capable of delivering a 1kg package within the range of 4 kilometers and has the capability to fly autonomously. With this, we demonstrated its capabilities to Mr. Tim Winterstein by delivering a hot cup of coffee at the Welcome Center.
(Video by Steve Y. and Simon J.)
The journey to building this prototype was a difficult one - it took months of hard work and dedication to overcome challenges and troubleshoot problems that would pop out of nowhere. The process began with a search of areas that could benefit from the usage of drone technology. In Shanghai, last-mile deliveries can be seen in the form of moped drivers in the streets on any given day. Pointing out the dangers the mopeds pose to pedestrians and to the moped drivers themselves, the team posed the question: “What if deliveries were instead made with drones?”. This began a 3-month long project that would finish with a successful demonstration of the drone’s capabilities.
The first prototype took flight on March 3rd, 2023 with a 250g payload. The success of the flight demonstrated the feasibility of the concept and the project. The second prototype was quickly put together and took flight on April 24th, 2023. The design incorporated the usage of laser cutters that greatly enhanced the quality and strongness of the container. This greatly improved the usability of the box and made it easier to manipulate the box. On October 31st, 2023 they performed their first airborne delivery of a coffee within campus to Mr. Winterstein.
The team would like to thank Mr. Tim Winterstein for his support and participation in the demonstration. Dr. Peter Tong for his unwavering support and guidance throughout the project!
Written by Simon J. (Class of ’25)