EDGE DRONES IN AUSTRALIA Sealing new designs Trelleborg uses its knowledge and expertise in aerospace sealing to support engineers designing drones, ensuring their effective operation whatever the conditions. Resisting harsh environments, specialized materials stand up to extreme temp- eratures, both cold at high altitude and hot at the height of the summer in Australia, for instance. To make sure motors and electronics have a long life without breakdown, a key focus is to prevent ingress of dust and water, protecting sensitive electric dynamic components. READ MORE For more information about this topic, click here. “I would say that drones are on the ‘slope of enlightenment’ right now.” Dr Catherine Ball, associate professor at the Australian National University (ANU) Above: A Wing team member prepares a drone for its next delivery. adoption. Initially, expectations tend to soar as people consider the potential benefits of a new technol- ogy. Then comes a ‘trough of disil- lusionment’ as it takes longer than expected for the desired results. This is followed by a ‘slope of enlightenment’ as businesses learn from their mistakes, and finally comes the ‘plateau of productivity’, as businesses successfully commer- cialize the technology and make money from it. “I would say that drones are on the slope of enlightenment right now,” says Dr Ball, who is also co-founder of the World of Drones and Robotics Congress. “There was a buzz around drones in 2015/16. Then, in 2017/18, they kind of started getting less sexy. More recently, during the pandemic, they have come into their own in a number of places.” Wing, owned by Google’s par- ent company Alphabet, has been trialing its drone delivery services in Finland, the United States and Australia since 2019. In addition to the operation in Logan, Wing provides drone delivery in parts of Canberra, the southern Australian city that is the location for the country’s Federal Parliament and the country’s capital. W W W.T R E L L E B O R G . C O M T·TIME 2.2022 | 5
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