An uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) includes an uncrewed aircraft and the equipment necessary for the safe and efficient operation of that aircraft. The City of Arlington supports the safe, respectful, and legal use of uncrewed aircraft in our community as a source of recreation and economic development. 

Multimodal Delivery Demonstration Project

With the help of a $780,182 U.S. Department of Energy grant, the City of Arlington will conduct an innovative pilot program to test the efficiency and scalability of using autonomous, electric delivery vehicles to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while serving residents in need. Arlington is partnering with Tarrant Area Food Bank, the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA), the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG), Dallas-Fort Worth Clean Cities Coalition (hosted at the NCTCOG), Airspace Link, Aerialoop, and Clevon to implement the Multimodal Delivery Project through 2025. The goal of this two-year study is to test and evaluate the use of no-emission or low-emission uncrewed aircraft and four-wheeled robots that are smaller than cars to deliver essential food items to individuals who are mobility challenged, historically disadvantaged, or lack a reliable means of transportation.

An estimated 300 boxes of food will be delivered to Tarrant Area Food Bank clients living in East Arlington during the study. These deliveries will be made by Aerialoop’s ALT6-4 VTOL Delivery Drone aircraft, a 6-foot-long battery powered drone that can carry nearly nine pounds, and Clevon’s autonomous delivery robot, CLEVON 1, equipped with a spacious cargo bay that clients can unlock with a code to access their delivery. Airspace Link’s AirHub® Portal will be used to provide the data and digital infrastructure needed for planning, decision-making, and operations, including detailed ground and air analysis that will help the aircraft operators determine take-off, landing, and delivery routes. Routes will be developed to avoid flying over residential areas and high-traffic roadways, and onboard sensors will use data only for navigation purposes.

During the first year, the project team will conduct community outreach, determine the locations for the deliveries, develop a concept of operations plan, and conduct the first of two short demonstrations. Each demonstration will last between two and four weeks to test the uncrewed aircraft and autonomous delivery vehicle technology and performance delivering packages to homes. In the second year of the study, the first demonstration will be analyzed, a second demonstration will be conducted, and final analysis, reporting, and sharing of lessons learned will be completed.

The timeline below depicts the proposed project schedule. A showcase event featuring a community workshop will be held on May 8th from 5:30 – 7:00 PM at Vandergriff Park to see the innovative delivery vehicles in action and provide an opportunity for the public more about the project. Please see the Community calendar for more details. The first demonstration will be conducted in Fall 2024 and a second demonstration will be held in Spring 2025.Final findings of the project reported in the Fall of 2024. 

Demonstration #1 – September 9 -15

The City of Arlington is partnering with Tarrant Area Food Bank, the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA), the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG), Airspace Link, Aerialoop, and Clevon to test the delivery of groceries using autonomous electric aircraft and ground vehicles. The program partners will use this opportunity to evaluate the impact of these new technologies on air quality, energy efficiency, and public attitudes before conducting a second pilot in the Spring of 2025. We need your participation to reach the project goal to deliver 150 food boxes between September 9th and 13th. The deadline to sign up for a September Delivery is August 9th, 2024.

Participation Requirements

1. Live in the delivery area.
2. Be available to receive your food package at your selected time during the week of September 9-13.
3. Be able to pick up the package from the delivery vehicle at your curb.

Delivery Area

Process

1. Sign up to participate in the pilot project by submitting a form on this website  or by calling 817-459-6688.
2. Participants will receive further instruction for scheduling their delivery at a convenient time.
3. On delivery day, your food box will depart from a mobile pantry location via aircraft and will land at a hub site in your neighborhood.
4. At the hub site, the boxes will be loaded onto the small ground robots for local delivery to your residence.
5. At your specified date and time, be ready to meet your robot and enter your access code on the vehicle’s keypad to receive your box.

Arlington FlySafe - Drone Operation Information 

The City of Arlington supports the safe, respectful, and legal use of drones in our community as a source of recreation and economic development. 

To enable residents and businesses to FlySafe, the City of Arlington provides live data on areas of potential risk, advisories for local events or emergencies, and other flight planning features in the AirHub® Launch application – a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)-approved, Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability (LAANC) UAS Service Supplier (USS). Pilots can access sophisticated pre-flight risk assessments, local weather reports, and automated near real-time LAANC approvals to fly in local controlled airspace (under 400’) in just two clicks.