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ANRA Technologies’ contributions to this transformative project includes developing the CAELUS CONOPS, the development of a delivery management system, customer and vendor software apps, order/inventory management, as well as integration with the UTM (Unmanned Traffic Management) system for efficient drone airspace management. ANRA is working, with its CAELUS ATM partner, to develop and test UTM interactions with ATM.

At the heart of ANRA’s involvement in Project CAELUS 2 is the implementation of a sophisticated Delivery Management System. This system orchestrates the entire drone logistics operation, ensuring the seamless and secure transportation of critical medical supplies. It encompasses operation planning, real-time tracking, and order management, all tailored to meet the unique demands of healthcare logistics. The DMS system enables the NHS customer to place orders directly with the vendor and Drone Service provider to manage the lifecycle of an order.

To further enhance the user experience and facilitate the efficient exchange of medical supplies, ANRA has developed dedicated customer and vendor apps. These user-friendly applications provide an intuitive platform for healthcare facilities and suppliers to place and manage orders, track deliveries, and ensure the timely provision of essential medical items to those in need. ANRA’s customer and vendor apps empower stakeholders by offering transparency, control, and reliability in the supply chain.

The integration with a UTM system is a cornerstone of ANRA’s contribution to Project CAELUS 2. UTM is essential for the safe and organized operation of drones in shared airspace. ANRA’s UTM integration ensures that drone flights adhere to airspace regulations, avoid collisions, and operate seamlessly alongside other aerial vehicles. This integration is vital for making drone delivery not only efficient but also compliant with regulatory standards.

ANRA Technologies is a partner in Project CAELUS 2, helping to establish the first national drone network for transporting essential medical supplies across the expansive and diverse terrain of Scotland, encompassing even the most remote and challenging communities.

ANRA Technologies’ contributions to this transformative project includes developing the CAELUS CONOPS, the development of a delivery management system, customer and vendor software apps, order/inventory management, as well as integration with the UTM (Unmanned Traffic Management) system for efficient drone airspace management. ANRA is working, with its CAELUS ATM partner, to develop and test UTM interactions with Air Traffic Management ATM.

At the heart of ANRA’s involvement in Project CAELUS 2 is the implementation of a sophisticated Delivery Management System. This system orchestrates the entire drone logistics operation, ensuring the seamless and secure transportation of critical medical supplies. It encompasses operation planning, real-time tracking, and order management, all tailored to meet the unique demands of healthcare logistics. The DMS system enables the NHS customer to place orders directly with the vendor and Drone Service provider to manage the lifecycle of an order.

To further enhance the user experience and facilitate the efficient exchange of medical supplies, ANRA has developed dedicated customer and vendor apps. These user-friendly applications provide an intuitive platform for healthcare facilities and suppliers to place and manage orders, track deliveries, and ensure the timely provision of essential medical items to those in need. ANRA’s customer and vendor apps empower stakeholders by offering transparency, control, and reliability in the supply chain.

The integration with a UTM system is a cornerstone of ANRA’s contribution to Project CAELUS 2. UTM is essential for the safe and organized operation of drones in shared airspace. ANRA’s UTM integration ensures that drone flights adhere to airspace regulations, avoid collisions, and operate seamlessly alongside other aerial vehicles. This integration is vital for making drone delivery not only efficient but also compliant with regulatory standards.

Lоndon and Sofia – 25 May 2023 –

Dronamics, the world's first cargo drone airline, announced today the successful completion of the first flight of its flagship aircraft, the Black Swan, at Balchik airport in Bulgaria; demonstrating the potential for the logistics industry to enhance efficiency in the transportation of products. Born out of two brothers’ desire to find a quicker, greener and more affordable way to deliver goods, Dronamics is on a mission to enable same day delivery for everyone, everywhere. This significant milestone is the culmination of months of ground testing and subscale flights. The Black Swan aircraft was remotely piloted by two commercial airline pilots from the Dronamics ground control station. The successful flight test validates the company's licensed cargo drone technology for commercial flights in Europe, set to begin later this year, serving industries such as e-commerce, pharma, spare parts, and perishables with a fast and cost-effective solution to meet evolving consumer needs.

It has been a busy few weeks for our project with workshops and meetings!

If you subscribe to the Emergency Services Times you can read the latest about what we have been doing!

We are also scheduled to be at the Emergency Services Show in September!

You can read the magazine at estmag.online/APR23

Great to welcome Communications Manager Lee McCann from AGS airports at ARI today to discuss the National NHS CAELUS Communication plan. Regular updates coming soon!

An exciting milestone in Project CAELUS as we welcomed Skyports on to the NHS estate in the North, Southeast and West of NHS Scotland to scope out landing and take off sites for our live future flight trials

Great few days in Amsterdam at Passenger Terminal Expo with friends and colleagues. From the Atkins stand I had the opportunity to present our work with Project CAELUS among an inspirational agenda of talks from Atkins colleagues who are leading the conversation on the future of sustainable aviation.

This week, NHS stakeholders from across Scotland were welcomed to join an insightful workshop led by Marco Fossati and team from University of Strathclyde as we continue to explore critical systems required for a future drone logistics network for healthcare Project CAELUS

A fantastic day at Net Zero Scotland Projects Conference with partners from AGS Airports NHS Scotland Skyports Drone Services University of Strathclyde

NHS Ayrshire & Arran NHS Grampian NHSG Innovation Hub

Our stall was busy throughout the whole day with people looking to learn more.

|30 September 2022|

Project CAELUS, the programme to deliver what will be the UK’s first medical distribution network using drones, won the Excellence in Technology and Innovation award at this year’s Scottish Transport Awards ceremony in Glasgow.

CAELUS (Care & Equity – Healthcare Logistics UAS Scotland), which brings together 16 partners including NATS, AGS Airports, the University of Strathclyde and NHS Scotland, secured £10.1 million funding from the Future Flight Challenge at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

In winning the award, Project CAELUS consortia members were praised by Scottish Transport Award judges for their innovation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fiona Smith, AGS Airports Group Head of Aerodrome Strategy and CAELUS Project Director, said: “We were delighted when we heard we had been shortlisted in the Scottish Transport Awards earlier this year so to win is a fantastic achievement.

“The CAELUS project is set to revolutionise the way in which healthcare services are delivered in Scotland. A drones network can ensure critical medical supplies can be delivered more efficiently, it can reduce waiting times for test results and, more importantly, it can provide equity of care between urban and remote rural communities.

“This award is testament to the hard work by all the partners involved in this consortium and I thank them all as we continue onto the next phase of work.”

Dr Tharaka Kothalawala, NATS lead for the Future Flight Challenge, said: “We’re excited to be leading the airspace management work of Project CAELUS, which will deliver the first national drone network to transport essential medical supplies throughout Scotland – an example of how uncrewed aviation can support the NHS and really make a difference.

“We’ll be developing the concepts for how airspace could be managed, and the procedures required to safely integrate a network of multiple drones with existing flight operations, and then putting those concepts to the test in a live trial with our consortium partners.

Well done to all the consortium partners involved for their hard work during the project so far, and their continued commitment to making CAELUS a success. This is a ground-breaking project that will shape the way our skies are used in the future, and we’re delighted to be a part of it.”

Minister for Transport Jenny Gilruth MSP and Scottish Transport Awards host Grant Scott welcomed 450 industry professionals to the Glasgow event last night 29 September to celebrate the people and organisations that make a real difference to transport across Scotland.

AGS Airports leads consortium including NHS Scotland for innovative project

A consortium led by AGS Airports in partnership with NHS Scotland to deliver what will be the UK’s first medical distribution network using drones has launched its next phase.

CAELUS (Care & Equity – Healthcare Logistics UAS Scotland), secured £10.1 million funding from the Future Flight Challenge at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) last month.

To celebrate, consortium members, stakeholders and politicians gathered at Glasgow Airport for the official launch and to hear more details of the project timelines and work so far.

Scottish Government Public Health Minister Maree Todd provided the key note speech at the event which had a number of exhibitions on show from partners.

CAELUS brings together 16 partners including the University of Strathclyde, NATS and NHS Scotland. Together they are working to deliver what will be the first national drone network that can transport essential medicines, bloods and other medical supplies throughout Scotland including to remote communities.

Since securing £1.5 million in January 2020, the CAELUS consortium has designed drone landing stations for NHS sites across Scotland and developed a virtual model (digital twin) of the proposed delivery network which connects hospitals, pathology laboratories, distribution centres and GP surgeries across Scotland.

NHS Scotland has said it will bring its “Once for Scotland” approach to the project, the second phase of which will involve live flight trials and removing remaining barriers to safely using drones at scale within Scotland’s airspace.

Fiona Smith, AGS Airports Group Head of Aerodrome Strategy and CAELUS Project Director, said: “We were delighted when we heard we were receiving the £10.1m funding from UKRI to move onto the next phase of the project.

“The CAELUS project is set to revolutionise the way in which healthcare services are delivered in Scotland. A drones network can ensure critical medical supplies can be delivered more efficiently, it can reduce waiting times for test results and, more importantly, it can provide equity of care between urban and remote rural communities. “

“As well as being able to undertake live flights we can begin to deploy the physical infrastructure needed to support the drones across Scotland. This will involve building prototype landing bases as well as digital and communication infrastructure. We will also work with local communities to ensure they understand why and how the drones will be used.”

Live flight trials will be operated by CAELUS consortium member Skyports. The UK-based drone services provider is an experienced operator of medical and dangerous goods cargo flights. The company was instrumental to early trial flights with NHS Scotland in 2020 and 2021, completing over 12,000 of flight hours in the region to date.

David Janner-Klausner, Co-Founder at Commonplace, said: "Commonplace is proud to be part of this innovative project, set to revolutionise the way in which healthcare services are delivered in Scotland. Our online community engagement platform will enable people to access information about the proposals and provide feedback and suggestions.

Our work on this project follows hundreds of community engagement projects, including the GATEway project which tested public reaction to driverless passenger transport pods in Greenwich, London. Ensuring critical medical supplies can be delivered more efficiently, and providing equity of care between urban and remote rural communities, fits perfectly with our social impact goals. We are excited to get started!"

NHS Grampian's Program Lead for Innovation, Hazel Dempsey, said: " We are incredibly excited to be the lead board for this high-end innovative project.

"Our aim, from an NHS perspective, is to test the use of drone technology in urban, remote, rural and island landscapes. We want to test if using drones to will improve important aspects of our logistics service, for example, to test the transportation of laboratory samples, blood products, chemotherapy, and medicine delivery. Ultimately, we want to explore if drone technology can speed up diagnosis and treatment of medical problems.

“This has the potential to improve services for those whose care is dependent on rail, ferry or airline timetables and help keep people at home where they can be supported by families and loved ones.

“This project intends to position the United Kingdom and NHS Scotland as a leader in the third revolution in the aviation industry."

David Lowe, National Clinical Director for Innovation added: "This national, exciting 'next stage' programme of work builds on the success of CAELUS 1 launch which focused on the West of Scotland."

The CAELUS consortium comprises:

AGS Airports Limited

ANRA Technologies UK

Arup

Atkins

Cellnex UK

Commonplace Digital

Connected Places Catapult

DGP Intelsius

Dronamics

NATS

NHS Scotland

Plane Finder

Skyports

The Drone Office

Trax International

University of Strathclyde

|5 July 2022|

The NHS is to trial the use of drones to courier chemotherapy drugs in a bid to speed up the delivery of vital medicines.

It is hoped that using drone technology will one day enable doctors to make “same-day delivery” orders for drugs and medical equipment from anywhere in the country.

A pilot scheme is to be launched to assess using drone technology in the health service, which will see chemotherapy drugs delivered from the pharmacy at a Portsmouth hospital to St Mary's Hospital on the Isle of Wight.

A consortium led by AGS Airports which is working with NHS Scotland to deliver what will be the UK’s first medical distribution network using drones has secured £7 million in funding from the Future Flight Challenge at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

It is the second successful round of funding for the CAELUS (Care & Equity – Healthcare Logistics UAS Scotland) consortium which brings together 16 partners including the University of Strathclyde, NATS and NHS Scotland. Together they are working to deliver what will be the first national drone network that can transport essential medicines, bloods and other medical supplies throughout Scotland including to remote communities.

Since securing £1.5 million in January 2020, the CAELUS consortium has designed drone landing stations for NHS sites across Scotland, developed a virtual model (digital twin) of the proposed delivery network which connects hospitals, pathology laboratories, distribution centres and GP surgeries across Scotland.

NHS Scotland has said it will bring its “Once for Scotland” approach to the project, the second phase of which will involve live flight trials and removing remaining barriers to safely using drones at scale within Scotland’s airspace.

Fiona Smith, AGS Airports Group Head of Aerodrome Strategy and CAELUS Project Director, said: “The main aim of the CAELUS project is to revolutionise the way in which healthcare services are delivered in Scotland. It can ensure critical medical supplies can be delivered more efficiently, it can reduce waiting times for test results and, more importantly, it can provide equity of care between urban and remote rural communities.

“The second round of funding from UKRI will allow our consortium to undertake live flight trials and design the physical infrastructure needed to support the drones across Scotland. This will involve building prototype landing bases as well as a comprehensive surveillance network. We will also work with local communities to ensure they understand why and how the drones will be used.”

Professor David Lowe, National Clinical Director, Scottish Health and Industry Partnership (SHIP), Scottish Government said: “The CALEUS project is an exemplar of the large-scale innovation projects Scotland is capable of delivering. Through the NHS innovation test bed infrastructure and by taking a ‘Once for Scotland’ approach, we can determine the viability, scalability and efficiency of the technology, and its potential impact across the NHS.

“This fusion of skills and knowledge is vital to accelerate the pace of adaption of innovative technologies and support our work to strengthen health and social care innovation in Scotland.”

June 2021

Care and equity logistics UAS Scotland or CAELUS Project is part-funded by Innovate UK's Future Flight Challenge. The consortium of 16 partners, led by AGS Airports aim to develop and trial what will be the UK's first national distribution network to use drones to trandport essential medicines, bloods and other medical supplies throughout Scotland.

Project partner NHS Scotland are leading a Once for Scotland approach to ensure the network can add value in urban, rural and remote areas all over Scotland, in health boards and with the Scottish Ambulance Service.