Drone race for air space - 12th November 2021

In the skies above Tel Aviv, Israel, drones are carrying sushi and beer. But as increasing numbers of companies experiment with drone delivery for everything from food to medical supplies, the issue of air traffic control becomes key to its future success.

This flight was made possible by HighLander, a company which specialises in traffic control for autonomous drones. HighLander chief executive Alon Abelson explains the importance of the company’s software.

Alon Abelson: "To fly one drone is not an issue. You just give it a sterile area and that's it. We are talking about multi drones that actually communicate between themselves. They are not communicating between themselves because they come from different drone manufacturers, but still they are monitoring with our software and we can make sure they don't collide - landing safely and everything. Exactly like an air traffic controller."

The international community is keeping a close eye on the developments. Up to now, companies such as Google have only concentrated on their own systems and not communication between different drone manufacturers or operators.

Daniella Partem is leader of the drone initiative at the Israel Innovation Authority.

Daniella Partem: "We're trying to create, using the system you see behind us, a managing system that will enable many drones flown by different companies in urban areas, flying together for many usages, such as medical delivery, such as security, such as food delivery."

Israel hopes that it will reclaim its status as a drone powerhouse. Having lost out to Turkey and Russia in the military area it is pulling upon the knowledge of its air force veterans in the development of drone traffic control and its use in the civilian world. Now, it could be the simple things in life such as the delivery of cold ice cream that are at the cutting edge of technology.

Talya Marder, head of marketing at Golda ice cream, comments.

Talya Marder: "People are always trying to save time. I think the biggest advantage is that you can order and in less than ten minutes you can get your order, something you can't do with bigger vehicles."