DRONE DELIVERY
LEADERS OF THE DRONE PACK
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DRONE DELIVERY CANADA
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I PROFILE
Drone Delivery Canada is a publicly traded, award winning company focused on designing, developing, and implementing commercially viable, drone-based delivery systems. CEO Steve Magirias explained to Hannah Barnett how the company is disrupting the logistics market.
AT
Drone Delivery Canada, for
test flights. We go to full production once
operations to run smoothly,
we’ve validated all the checks and bal-
a close relationship with its
ances to ensure everything is working
customer base is paramount. The company
together, and then we fly based on the
provides a complete turnkey logistics
customer’s schedule.”
solution, including a proprietary software system known as FLYTE, alongside hard-
An overview of innovation
ware and professional services. This allows
Drone Delivery Canada, located in
for a safe and secure autonomous cargo
Vaughan, near Toronto, was founded
delivery process from depot to depot.
in 2014 to provide a disruptive, advanced
“We don’t just sell a drone, and leave
drone logistics infrastructure solution.
the customer to their own devices,” said
Company contracts in commercial and
Steve Magirias, CEO. “We run a managed
industrial applications include, but are
service. This means we work with the
not limited to, emergency and medical
client; we evaluate the best possible
services, mining, the oil and gas sector,
route, implement everything, and do the
parcel delivery, and providing goods to
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DRONE DELIVERY CANADA
I PROFILE
remote communities, both indigenous and nonindigenous. For its first five years, DDC was dedicated to development and prototyping. A big milestone was reached in 2019, when the company commenced commercial routes and developed a strong relationship with the Canadian regulator, Transport Canada. “Getting something flying commercially really helped propel the company, by giving
Drone Delivery Canada CEO Steve Magirias
us legitimacy and raising additional funding in order to keep advancing the development of our products and growing to where we are today,” Mr. Magirias said. Aviation safety and regulatory compliance
Scaling-up with EIA and more One of the company’s milestone
is of the utmost importance to the company.
partnerships began in 2019 with Edmonton
This includes risk assessments, a safety
International Airport (EIA). It is a collabora-
management system, operational training
tion with Ziing and Apple Express and came
programs, and a HSE reporting processes,
about through DDC’s 10-year strategic
similar to those used in commercial aviation.
relationship with Air Canada Cargo.
“We are focused on getting the tech-
The project used drones to transport
nology to the point where it can be scaled
cargo and parcels between the airport and
up,” Mr. Magirias explained. “Although we
nearby industrial areas, improving logistics
want to have as much of a market share
and reducing ground transportation and
and the highest revenue as possible,
road congestion. It also demonstrates the
the main priority for us is to advance the
efficiency, safety, and reliability of DDC’s
technology forward to a fully autonomous
drone delivery platform.
solution that complies with regulations.”
“One of the challenges on the EIA project was complying with Transport Canada and Nav Canada, so as to not disrupt the flight path of the planes,” Mr. Magirias explained. “Typically, the sweet spot to fly a drone is between 300 and 400 feet. At Edmonton Airport we are flying as low as 50 feet. We must ensure we meet the requirements and avoid any situations where we have to deconflict with regular airport traffic.” In 2022, as the first drone operation on international airport grounds, DDC won an
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XCELLENCE Award for innovation from the
Memorial Hospital. At 13.4km, it is DDC’s
Association for Uncrewed Vehicles Systems
longest commercial route to date, and the
International (AUVSI).
drone covers the distance in just under 15
With phase two in the planning stages,
minutes. The long-term goal is to establish
and a three-month extension recently
a full ecosystem of drones delivering
announced on the contract, DDC hopes
between multiple hospitals.
to continue to add value for its airport
One of DDC’s standout projects was
partners. “EIA are extremely focused
delivering Covid 19 test kits and pharma-
on advancements in technology,”
ceuticals from the village of Fraser Lake,
Mr. Magirias said. “They’ve been big
across the water to the Stellat’en First
supporters of ours throughout the whole
Nation community in British Colombia. “This
process and are a great team of people
was the first pilot project,” Mr. Magirias
to work with.”
explained. “But it’s very innovative. It was
Another arm of the deliveries sector has
the first of its kind that we know of, at least
involved distributing medical isotopes from
within Canada. We’re looking forward to
the DSV depot to the Oakville Trafalgar
more projects in that sector.”
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DRONE DELIVERY CANADA
I PROFILE
FLYTE is right
FLYTE also offers a sophisticated logis-
FLYTE is DDC’s flagship virtual flight
tics system including real time package
management software that allows for
tracking, delivery notifications, scheduling,
secure automated operations, monitoring
monitoring logs for temperature-sensitive
of commercial air traffic, weather, and other
cargo, and maintenance records of all
data, from the Operations Control Centre.
drones including their components.
“Our FLYTE software controls everything,”
To complement a customers’ existing
Mr. Magirias said. “It’s the heart and the
supply chain, FLYTE can be easily integrated
brains, if you will. It’s a requirement within
with internal logistics software via APIs.
Canada that every flight has a remote
“We don’t just sell the hardware, what a
pilot in command. So anytime we fly for
customer gets is a full logistics solution that
commercial reasons, or for development
can deliver the cargo where it’s needed,”
testing, our team is monitoring all the flights
Mr. Magirias added.
from our Operations Control Centre at our headquarters. The software helps us pre-
The future of drones
program the route and the waypoints as
As the market for drones continues to
well as monitor every aspect involved in
expand, DDC has set its sights on eventual
each flight.”
expansion to the United States, where the
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DDC also wants to strengthen and maintain its sustainable credentials. When roughly 80% of all packages delivered across Canada are less than five pounds in weight, drone delivery is a sustainable option compared to a gas guzzling truck. The same could be said of a drone’s potential in the food delivery space. That is not all they can do, though, as some of the innovative sectors DDC is operating in makes clear. “Most people will look at the convenience of drone delivery,” Mr. Magirias concluded. “But there also could be a lifesaving aspect when it comes to wildfires and getting drones to do things that would otherwise put humans in danger. There’s a lot of good that can come from drones, along with delivering people’s coffee and things like that. “I think the future is bright and drones sector is already much larger, and globally.
will make a big difference. It’s really not a
This will mean continuing to consolidate its
question of if, but when.”
n
current position and retaining strong business relationships. The company meets with suppliers every quarter to keep its partners abreast of new developments. “We have a few key suppliers,” Mr. Magirias said. “Some are used by others in the industry, some are proprietary using our technology. The main goal is to have open communication and regular dialogue, so they understand where we’re going and what our expectations are going forward. Ultimately, they’re a business and have an eye on revenue for themselves too. When you’re trying to beat down suppliers on price, it doesn’t build a great relationship. We want a relationship of transparency.”
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