Drone Express teams up with Microsoft on navigation AI

Drone Express, an Ohio-based last mile logistics company announced a partnership with Microsoft to leverage Azure for in-flight navigation AI with its DE-2020 delivery drones. Azure will be used to host AI workloads with Azure Machine Learning to train models.

Drone Express aims to become one of the first companies with a Part 135 FAA certification for autonomous drone delivery. AI is an important part of achieving this goal, the company says, allowing its drones to navigate in complicated urban environments.

"While our competitors are focusing on how to carry more weight, we are focusing on building a more intelligent aircraft. This technology, combined with our proprietary mesh networking capabilities, will propel our aircraft to the forefront of autonomous airborne logistics,” stated Beth Flippo, Chief Executive Officer, Drone Express.