by DRONELIFE Staff Writer Ian J. McNabb
When delivery drones fill the skies, where will they land? Could it be in environmentally friendly, folded-steel vertiports?
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The Swedish air-mobility company Kookiejar has just partnered with their countrymen at design and technology firm STILFOLD to create new vertiport modules made with their “industrial origami” technology, which uses robot arms to fold affordable and sustainable steel sheet panels into new structures with only minimal components. While this is their first foray into aviation, other STILFOLD projects include collaborations with Polestar Cars to create the world’s climate-neutral car, and their STILBIKE, an electric motorcycle constructed using their innovative new manufacturing processes.
As Max Hoffman, Head of Strategic Projects at Kookiejar, said in their press release, “KookieJar is establishing a network of transportation hubs for cost-effective and environmentally sustainable aerial deliveries and passenger services. Autonomous drone and VTOL takeoff and landing platforms (aka vertiports) are a vital component in automating and facilitating drone deliveries and air taxi services on a large scale while ensuring safety and functionality.” As drone delivery is expected to explode in the US, Kookiejar thinks that building its advanced drone landing pads using STILFOLD’s industrial know-how will help them scale its technology to reach the urban and rural customers they hope to serve. Jonas Nyvang, the CEO of STILFOLD, said, “This partnership with Kookiejar is further proof that our manufacturing technology provides entirely new opportunities across virtually all types of manufacturing industries. We see a range of exciting benefits for the aviation industry as a whole. Being able to take a leading position in future transportation through drones is another significant advantage we eagerly anticipate and we can’t wait to start building with the Kookiejar team.”
The issue of affordably creating areas for drones to land isn’t unique to Kookiejar, however, and multiple companies have sought to solve the issues involved with building a whole new type of infrastructure. Vertiports aren’t just a flat landing pad- they need to provide air traffic control, weather data, logistics, battery services, and more. The main issue is making them cost effective- there isn’t very much incentive to build them today, but without them, advanced air mobility can’t move forward. Kookiejar is betting that STILFOLD’s tech will help them roll out new lines of vertiports around the globe.
Read more:
- What Goes Into a Vertiport? Node4 Supports Skyports Infrastructure with Data Analysis and IT
- Australia Publishes Guidelines for Air Taxi Vertiports
- AAM and Vertiports in Australia: Skyportz and Pelligra Partner
- For Air Taxis to Take Off, They Need Somewhere to Land. Skyportz Works to Make Investment in Vertiports Less Risky
- How Do You Convince Developers to Build Vertiport Infrastructure? A “Vertiport in a Box” Might be the Answer.
Ian McNabb is a staff writer based in Boston, MA. His interests include geopolitics, emerging technologies, environmental sustainability, and Boston College sports.
Miriam McNabb is the Editor-in-Chief of DRONELIFE and CEO of JobForDrones, a professional drone services marketplace, and a fascinated observer of the emerging drone industry and the regulatory environment for drones. Miriam has penned over 3,000 articles focused on the commercial drone space and is an international speaker and recognized figure in the industry. Miriam has a degree from the University of Chicago and over 20 years of experience in high tech sales and marketing for new technologies.
For drone industry consulting or writing, Email Miriam.
TWITTER:@spaldingbarker
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