Innovation cash for drone technology

A BRISTOL-based drone company will receive a share of £7million innovation funding after developing technology to help provide humanitarian aid.

Windracers Distributed Avionics, based in Bristol and Southampton, is one of 20 companies benefiting from the Government investment designed to drive innovation.

It has developed swarming technology allowing multiple drones to fly in close formations to provide aid or fight fires.

The funding stems from £33.5million associated with the Future Flight Challenge, with an additional 28 potential projects also in the pipeline for Government backing, according to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). The challenge aims to reduce the reliance on road travel and increase UK manufacturing opportunities.

Close to half the companies already awarded cash are planning to use it to create technology that will help tackle the pandemic, said the BEIS.

Other South West projects in line for funding include companies building drones to deliver Covid-19 tests and personal protective equipment.

A trio of businesses in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly – Droneprep, Consortiq and Windracers – will use unmanned aerial vehicles to deliver the supplies to rural communities.

Other successful bids include companies investing in hydrogenfuelled delivery planes and designers creating technology to enable remote inspections of infrastructure and construction sites.