All language subtitles for B T W S05E01 1080p WEB h264-BAE_track3_[eng]

(no audio)

(upbeat music)

- Drones and electric
vertical takeoff and landing

or eVTOL aircraft aim
to be common modes

of transportation and delivery.

- Electric vertical takeoff
and landing aircraft

have the potential

to completely change
how we live and work.

- Small drones can
deliver packages

that can have
life-changing effects,

like medical supplies
and medicine.

- Today, we essentially
have flying laptops.

The possibilities of what
they can do are limitless.

- With drones,

DroneUp has changed
the way Walmart is able

to deliver its
packages in a fraction

of the time of
traditional methods.

- It's access.

We are going to
democratize speed

and that's where
drones come into play.

- I'm Dawn Zoldi, a
former military attorney.

Even then I knew that drones
were gonna change the world

and today we see this
coming to fruition.

It's so incredible to be a
part of history in the making.

It's time to go
"Behind the Wings."

Think about hailing
an Uber or a Lyft.

Well, instead of
getting into that car,

you're gonna hop
in one of these.

Instead of possibly
sitting an hour in traffic,

you're gonna get
there in 10 minutes.

We're here at Archer's
headquarters in Palo
Alto, California

for two big things today.

First, the flight
test of The Maker.

In fact, it's the
first transitional
flight we're gonna see.

We're also gonna
get a sneak peek

at Archer's Midnight aircraft,

that's their commercial model.

And the vision here is
for it to be a ride share.

It's gonna change the
face of transportation.

We're here inside the lab
and behind me is The Maker.

- [Dawn] We're gonna see this
aircraft fly later today.

It's a demonstrator and
they're doing flight testing.

- So what they're
gonna show today

for the first time is
transitional flight.

- [Dawn] That means taking
off vertically in a hover

to forward flight where the
wings are providing most

of the lift.

- So to understand better
how this thing flies,

we're gonna hear from the
chief operations officer here

at Archer, Tom Muniz.

- So I was a young engineer
doing airplane design work

and had the opportunity

to start working on new
exciting electric airplanes.

And back 10, 12 years ago,
that was like a crazy idea.

Electric airplanes, like
what does that even mean?

Right?
- Right.

- But batteries are
continuing to get better.

Motors are continuing to
get more lightweight and so,

actually you could make
a new type of airplane

to do some really cool stuff,

putting all the
technology together.

So that's kinda what you
see behind us here today.

- [Dawn] What's
different about it

than designing just a
conventional aircraft?

- One of the unique
things about the aircraft

that we're developing
here at Archer is

that it's not just electric,

but it also takes off
and lands vertically.

So it doesn't need a runway,
takes off like a helicopter.

But unlike a helicopter,

it doesn't have one
big rotor system.

It actually has many
small propellers all

around the aircraft.

And the way you can do that
is by having electric motors,

which you can scale down,

and then you have this inherent
redundancy in the system,

meaning any of the
motors can fail

and the aircraft
still flies safely.

That's only enabled by
electrification, super cool.

- I imagine the lower cost for
things like maintenance could

also translate into
savings for consumers.

Like someone wants to
fly on this aircraft,

like how does that translate?

- We envision these
airplanes flying in networks

where they're kind of hopping
one flight to the next,

doing lots of trips per day.

And what that translates into
is really low operating costs

and that translates into low
ticket prices. In the future

you'll be able to get out the
Archer app and you'll be able

to say, "Hey, I'd like to
go to this destination."

And then that'll reserve a
seat on a flight like this.

Then you'll be able to
go to the verti-port

and then you'll take your Archer
to wherever you want to go.

- So, think about
hopping on a plane,

virtually from anywhere,

whether it's from a dock, a
rooftop, or a parking lot.

And once you start cruising,

they rotate down and fly like
propellers on an airplane.

Here we are at the
tail of the aircraft.

Now on a normal airplane,

this is where the exhaust
would normally come out.

Notice, there is none.

So what's so special
about electric?

A couple of things,
quieter, safer,

more sustainable,
and accessible, those
are all bonuses.

On the downside,

batteries can have limited
lifespans and can be heavy.

We are at the airport right now.

We're getting ready for
the flight test demo.

It's gonna be awesome.

So we made it to
the Salinas Airport.

This is an active airfield
and we're getting ready

for the flight
test of The Maker.

It is an uncrewed aircraft.

That's about 80% of
the production model

that Archer is putting out
for urban air mobility.

They've gone through a
small drone demonstrator

to the larger Maker,

80% demonstrator to what
we're gonna see later,

their big production model
for urban air mobility.

So the future is here.

(radio chatter)

We've been cleared for takeoff

and what we're seeing
now is the plane

is lifting vertically,
it's gonna hover.

As it starts, the rotors
are facing down, right?

And so when it gets up
there in that hover,

they start tilting
forward and that's

where you see the transition
to forward movement.

This vehicle is uncrewed, right?

So there's nobody on board,
there's no pilot up there,

but you've got about
six folks in a trailer,

making sure that
everything's on track.

This is a a real
live flight test.

So they're proving
their concept here

and they're well on the
road to FAA certification.

Really exciting times to
see this in action here

with The Maker.

We've seen the demonstration
model called Maker.

In fact, we've seen it fly.

And now this is the production
model called Midnight.

This is the one that's gonna
fly you around New York City.

There are some similarities
to the demonstration aircraft.

- [Dawn] Just like The Maker,

this also has six
rotors that tilt.

So that's what's gonna
create the vertical lift.

- And this one's bigger.

The Maker is a
literally 80% solution.

This is the full scale model
that can fit four passengers

and a pilot.

The vision is urban
air mobility or UAM.

And this is flying people
around cities, short distances.

- Great to meet you.
- Nice to meet you.

- You're well on the path to
certification with the FAA.

In fact, today's flight
demonstration with The Maker,

can you explain the
significance of that?

- The industry has
largely been focused

on research and development.

While the technology
is really cool

and we could build really
fast, high flying planes,

we want people to
be able to use them

and use them on
an everyday basis.

We recently showed a flight test

of our demonstrator
aircraft Maker

and that showed the capabilities

of what these vehicles can do.

It shows you how
fast they can fly,

but importantly, it shows you
how quiet they really are.

That was a big step in
helping the public see

that these vehicles are
coming to market really soon.

We've recently partnered
with United Airlines.

They've been a great
partner to Archer

where they're buying
aircraft from us

and helping us stand up
this entire industry.

Electric vertical takeoff
and landing aircraft

have the potential

to completely change
how we live and work.

So if you can imagine not just
driving to work every day,

but potentially flying
to work every day,

not just going long
distances to take vacations,

but flying somewhere locally

and doing it on a
more regular basis.

That's the world
that I wanna live in.

- That's the world
I wanna live in too.

And thank you so much
for helping create it.

- [Dawn] As one example of
many that we're seeing now.

- That was so amazing
learning about these aircraft

and also getting to see one fly.

You know the FAA always talks

about a crawl,
walk, run approach.

Well, guess what,
everybody, we're flying.

- Small drones can
have big impacts.

While electric vertical
takeoff and landing aircraft

can carry people,

small drones can carry packages
that can be life-changing

like medicines and
medical supplies.

About 60 million Americans
or one in five live

in rural areas.

And drones can be the difference
between hours to minutes

to get those folks the
urgent medical equipment

that they need.

The Choctaw Nation's
reservation in Oklahoma occupies

about 11,000 square miles.

They are doing
medical deliveries

that are gonna change the world.

So James, what's
at stake in terms

of medical drone deliveries?

- Well, in terms of
medical drone delivery,

we are looking at solving
that disparity that we have

between urban and
rural communities.

There's a lot of things that
have happened with technology

that have equalized the quality
of life and quality health

between urban, rural areas.

But transportation
is the last part.

And that transportation
challenge being a long way

from medical clinics,
medical services,

being a long way away from
emergency response personnel,

those things impact
health outcome.

Unfortunately in
the 21st century,

in the United States of America,

we still have health outcomes
that are determined a lot

by your zip code.

Drones we believe are
gonna help equalize that.

We represent what most
rural communities look like.

Our reservation looks

like other Native
American reservations.

We look like other
rural communities.

- Tell us a little bit about
the medicines or the equipment

that drones can bring to
people in a quicker manner

that can save lives.

- We looked at a simple
case of access to EpiPens

and potential for saving lives.

There are dozens and dozens
of people every year that die

because they don't have access.

Well, that's a very
small, simple item,

but getting it to somewhere
quickly is the challenge

in rural areas.

A lot of things that
in the right situation,

you need immediately, you can't
wait 45 minutes or an hour.

Drones are perfect for that.

- So James, we're
gonna see a demo

of a medical drone delivery,

but this package you're
holding is something

that could be used in
a real world scenario.

So tell us a little
bit about this.

- Yeah, it's surprising,
in emergency situations,

a lot of times it doesn't
have to be very big packages

or very much equipment.

And it's amazing
what we can pack

into these small
packages like this.

- Well, let's see
what we got here.

- We've got quite a bit.

There's multiple situations
that we can deal with

with this type of a kit.

But you could imagine
something like this could

also be packed with insulin,

we could have it
packed with EpiPens,

we could have anti-venom,

all sorts of things
that to face situations

that we might see in a
rural area like this.

- So what you're gonna see
is this drone that's going

to have a five pound
package loaded on it.

It's going to have bottles
in there that are filled

with liquid, which basically
simulate either medicines

or critical medical
samples that need to get

from one location to another.

We're gonna see it take off

and then we're also
gonna see it land.

- [Dawn] This test
flight illustrates one

of the hardest use cases

where there are liquids on
board, about five pounds.

The conditions are windy.

So the key here is to show
the stability and reliability

of the drone so it can fly
and get these medicines

to where they need to go safely.

- This is one of those examples

where you're basically gonna
simulate the hardest use case.

- We're gonna try to do
the worst case scenario

and that's what the FAA
likes to see as well

'cause whenever they're
testing they say, "Okay,

what's the worst case
of this situation

and how are you gonna
demonstrate you can
do that safely?"

- Well, you did some
of these flights,

so could you give us a
real world kind of example

of if this was driven by car,

how long this
would've taken versus

how long it actually took
you to do the same delivery

with a drone?

- Even if you're only flying
at 30, 35 miles an hour,

if you look at putting
a car on the ground

from the initial point
to the destination

and then compare that
with the drone flight

and we cut the time
almost in half.

- That's significant,

especially if we're talking
about life and death situations.

As part of the Federal
Aviation Administration

or FAA's Beyond Program,

companies can come
to the Choctaw Ranch

and safely test out the
most difficult use cases,

whether drone delivery beyond
visual line of sight flight

to make sure that they're
doing this in a place

where the air and ground
risk is minimal and

to inform decision making.

While the testing and
experiments occurring here

in the Choctaw Nation

for drones and medical
delivery are unique,

the impacts they're going
to have will be universal.

In Baltimore,
Maryland, MissionGo is
pushing the envelope

even further for medical
drone deliveries.

In 2019, they delivered
the first organ

by drone successfully to
a transplant recipient.

- We see drones as a
tool of the future.

Medical transport is critical.

Time is always of the essence.

Nobody wants to be
waiting around for blood.

Nobody wants to
be waiting around

for their organ that they need.

Now, I'm not a
doctor, I'm a pilot.

But what our doctors
do tell us is that

for every minute an organ
is outside of the body,

it's essentially
degrading, it's dying.

The organs don't want to
be outside of the body.

They want to be
inside of the body.

Our organ transport and
procurement transportation

across the country, they
do a really good job.

But that's not to say
that it can't be better.

Uncrewed aircraft have a
really unique role in making

that whole process better

and making the recipients
on the other side,

their quality of life better.

In 2019, Dr. Joe Scalea

with the University of Maryland
Medical Center came to us

with a absolutely wild idea
of transporting a human organ

on board an unmanned aircraft.

What is the art of possible?

But we were up for the
task and the challenge

and we did just that.

- The long game with
these technologies is

that we'll be able

to limit the amount
of time that expires

between explant and implant.

We'll also be able to reduce
the cost of the shipment

of organs, we'll have access
to immediate transportation,

certainly be more efficient.

And I think there
are a lot of upsides.

In this initial series,

just trying to organize
the logistics I think,

is really critical
to moving forward.

So this is really about getting
it right, working as a team,

a group of surgeons,
engineers, drone folks.

Yeah, that's a big group of
people to bring together,

but we've been able to do
it at least here today.

So that's exciting.

- It's clear for launch,
let's make some history.

- [Speaker] Launch.

- The night came of April, 2019

where we flew the first
human kidney for transplant

over the city of Baltimore.

Now mind you, the task of
doing that was monumental.

It was not as easy as
just somebody showed
up with a kidney,

we put on the aircraft,
and pushed a button.

There was more than 400 people
involved to make that happen.

It was a literal village
to make this a success.

And in the end, while
it was a short flight,

it was around three
miles in length.

The fact is, is that we did
it and it was successful.

- Confirming hummel's active,
temperature's appropriate,

organ doesn't appear
to be injured at all.

Looks like a perfectly
transplantable organ.

- And it proved that uncrewed
aircraft could be used

for more than just
taking pictures or
flying around for fun.

But it could literally
be used to save lives

and transport a human
organ in a safe manner

to somebody who needs it
and they need it right now.

It's an excellent tool
that we can have in the box

to supplement a huge
endeavor that we're trying

to create better quality of
life for patients in the end.

- With medical
delivery by drone,

small packages can
have a massive impact.

Since the Covid-19 pandemic,

drone delivery has
really taken off, why?

Because they're the
ultimate social distancers.

- In a small town in Arkansas,

a revolution is taking
place in the world

of last mile delivery.

We all know the traditional
way of shopping,

you have to get in your
car, drive to the store,

pick up whatever it is
you're looking to buy

and then head on home.

But with drones,

I could get any of this
delivered right to my backyard,

even a rotisserie chicken.

- As one example of many

that we're seeing now
across the country,

Walmart has teamed up with
DroneUp to bring a number

of their products from
the store to your door

by drone more
conveniently and quickly.

- Each one of these Walmarts
becomes distribution centers

with products that
are custom fitted

for the audience around them.

Being able to deliver from the
Walmarts to those residences

within that range allows
us to serve millions

of customers every day.

- Tom, how would you
describe this moment in time

in terms of the drone industry?

- If you think about where
we are in the evolution

of the drone industry,
specifically related

to drone delivery,
prior to the pandemic,

there were no drone
delivery operations going

on in the United States.

Today, in addition
to what others in the
industry are doing,

we have 34 locations delivering
to 4 million customers.

That's happened in
just a few years.

And now with the FAA
regulations evolving

and the technology evolving

and the community's realizing
this is really happening,

we had mayors of cities
all over the country asking

if we would come
into their cities

and do the very same thing.

You're seeing partnerships
like the one we have

with Walmart, I
can't even imagine

what you're gonna see over
the next two to three years.

- From those initial days when
you were doing these tests

with Walmart for Covid-19
test deliveries to today,

your operation has
evolved so much.

How has it evolved?

- It's evolved a lot.

In those early days,

there were no off the shelf
drones designed for delivery.

Today we've got drones that
are custom built and designed

with all kinds of
safety protocol,

autonomous software, integrated
with airspace management so

that we can deconflict and
maintain safe airspace.

Today looks nothing like it
looked even two years ago.

- What is your vision of
the future for drones?

- My vision of the future
is that we're gonna be,

within 10 years, we're
gonna be delivering

about 5 billion packages a year.

If you think about that,

that's probably 25% of
the total delivery market.

And that's from a technology
that was not even being used

just a few years ago.

When we talk about
the last mile,

we recognize drones
aren't the final solution

to the last mile.

Over the next 10 years,

you're gonna see the last mile
revolutionized and we believe

that it's gonna be
autonomous aerial,

autonomous ground,
and electric vehicles.

We know the part that we
play in it and we know

that we're gonna
change the last mile

over the next 10 years.

- DroneUp continues
pushing the boundaries

of drone delivery.

Its partnership with Walmart
is gonna change the way

we all receive packages.

It was so great to meet you.

- Prathibha, what kind of impact
do you think drone delivery

can have on everyday people?

- Our customers have
told us that convenience

and saving money is
really important to them.

They want to have
express delivery for
things that they need

in a pinch and that's where
drones come into play.

It's access, we are going
to democratize speed.

If somebody lives in rural
America and wants access

to prescription drugs
and regulations allow us

to deliver prescription
drugs, we are able to do that.

And the third one
is sustainability.

So drones mainly operate
through electricity

and it prioritizes planet

and making sure we
are being sustainable

in how we use our resources.

- How do drones fit into your
last mile delivery strategy?

- We've talked about
Walmart's footprint.

4,700 stores within 10 miles
of 90% of the US population.

So 120,000 SKUs or
items are available

for express delivery
for our customers.

The maximum weight
that we can deliver

right now is 10 pounds.

But we are working with
FAA, local state, regulators

to expand that.

It's not about the
technology itself,

but what problems the
technology is going to solve.

- So, in your experience,

what are the top items
that people are ordering

for drone delivery right now?

- The top items are Cookies
and Cream ice cream,

paper towels, lemons,

and then rotisserie chicken.

Isn't it fun that we are
delivering rotisserie chicken

to people's backyard?

- I personally can't wait

to get my rotisserie chicken
delivered to my backyard.

I mean, think about it.

With drone delivery,
chickens really can fly.

- This sounds like it's
gonna be in the future,

but it's happening now
in Bentonville and coming

to a town near you.

Now that you both have explained

how Walmart drone
delivery works,

I'm so excited to
experience it for myself.

I'm getting s'mores drone style.

I'm here with Ken,

he is the hub manager here
at Bentonville, Arkansas,

store 100 for Walmart.

And you're gonna show me
how to place a delivery.

- Absolutely, it's easy as any
web order you've ever made.

- Alright, let's do it.
- Alright.

- All you gotta do is
click in your address.

- All right, here we go.

Okay, super easy.

I put in my address and now
here's all the different things

that I could order,

but I wanna order
stuff to make s'mores.

So what do I do?

- You just scroll to
the items you want.

So in this case,
you want s'mores.

So you just click on the
item and add it to cart.

- Adding it to cart and it
looks like we're good to go.

So then I go to my little cart.

- Yeah and then
once you hit submit,

the order process begins.

- Ken, that was so easy.

That took me less
than two minutes.

- Yeah, nothing's different
than any other order

except how it gets to you.

- So I placed the order,
Walmart got the goods,

and now what happens next?

- Now we just load it up in
the box and get it ready.

- Okay, very good.
- You wanna load it?

- Sure, all right.

In go the grams, in go the
chocolates, and the mallows.

- All right, all that nice
and centered in our box.

And close it up and that's
it, let's get it flying.

- [Dawn] Package is
loaded, what's next?

- Ready for takeoff.

- So Ken, we're up on
the roof here of the hub,

but what is this behind us?

- That's our remote
pilot in command.

He's the one that
manages the flight.

The aircraft is
completely automated,

but he still supervises
all operations.

- [Dawn] Safety
is job number one.

- [Ken] Of course.

- Good 'cause I sure hope
that my s'mores arrive safely.

(upbeat music)

There go my s'mores.

- [Dawn] In the air,

we see the drone flying with
precision and reliability

to its ultimate destination.

On the ground, we got to
witness firsthand the delivery

by drone of goods right to
the customer's doorstep.

- So here we are
at the landing site

to tell us what we're gonna see.

- It's gonna travel for
us here at this hub.

We fly at 115 feet.

It'll fly in and it'll
descend down to 80 feet,

which is our safe
delivery altitude.

And then it will repel
down on a line your box.

- I think I see it
coming right now.

- Yep, there it is.

It actually it is because
there it is. (laughs)

- [Dawn] And the
package is descending.

Well, that comes
down pretty fast.

- Puck captured.

- All right, here it
is, the big reveal.

And there they are fully
intact.

So when you are at home
and you do not want to go out

but you have a hankering for
a s'more

drones are gonna make
that happen for you.

So I got to experience
this myself today.

Absolutely unbelievable,

from order to delivery
less than 30 minutes.

I can't wait until this
comes to Colorado Springs.

- We look forward to visiting.

- From flying taxis
to drone deliveries

of groceries and
even human organs,

we've seen how drones

and eVTOLs are
transforming everyday life.

- There's a real
opportunity here to be able

to move a lot of people
into the air and allow them

to not only just save time,

but actually figure out what
they want to do with that time.

- Today people are using drone
delivery as a convenience.

In the future, it
will become something

that people simply
can't live without.

- Not only will we see our
health benefit from it,

but we'll see this convenience

that will make our lives
much more enjoyable.

- Flying is really not new.

We've been doing it
for a long time now.

Artificial intelligence,

sensors are all getting
integrated today

to make these flying
laptops even smarter

and more efficient than
they ever have been.

- These technologies increase
access, increase speed,

and efficiency in ways
we've never seen before.

They're on the way to
becoming a huge part

of our daily lives.

As this technology
continues to mature,

keep an eye in the sky
for a drone near you.

(upbeat music)