Anji County Doubles AirDock Network Reach for Regionwide Multi-Mission Drone Operations

The Second Phase of the Shared Multi-Mission A2Z AirDock Network Expands Service Range to 965 Square Miles While Broadening Mission Capabilities with New Use Cases.

In late 2024, the Anji Bureau of Water Resources, in Anji County outside Shanghai, China, deployed the
world’s first A2Z AirDock network to automate routine patrols of its waterways, reservoirs, and
tributaries. The initial phase of construction erected eight elevated AirDocks, enabling a small fleet of
two A2Z Drone Delivery Longtail aircraft to conduct nonstop autonomous patrol missions across the 23
miles of contiguous waterways. The sharable dock network was also leveraged by county first
responders to monitor traffic congestion and provide rapid response aerial assets when responding to
vehicular incidents. When the government agencies were not using the dock network, it became a
revenue generator as local restaurants leveraged an independent delivery drone fleet to conduct
autonomous last-mile food deliveries from local cafes to the region’s popular eco-resorts. The initial
trials of the autonomous drone services were so embraced by the respective stakeholders that the dock
network quickly grew to 15 test locations to meet growing demand.

Following a year of testing and trials, the project has now expanded in scope to reach across the entire
region. Phase 2 construction has added an additional 19 AirDocks to the region’s drone dock
infrastructure, bringing airborne services to a 965-square-mile region. New mission capabilities were
also incorporated. The network now also supports the county highway department’s inspection teams
by detecting cracks in roadways or errant debris in the roadways, all from altitude. Additionally, local
emergency services leverage infrared camera-equipped Longtail aircraft to conduct routine and
repeatable search and rescue operations. The massive scale of the expanded AirDock network is also
unlocking last-mile drone delivery for even more local restaurants and cafes.

Customer Needs
As the lead customer in the now-expanded project featuring 34 AirDocks, the Anji Bureau of Water
Resources initially focused its drone operations on patrolling the county’s urban waterways, reservoirs,
and tributaries. Monitoring had traditionally been conducted by department staff in ground vehicles and
on foot. Routine inspection of the waterways weaving through the urban terrain was labor-intensive,
often taking several days, and some hard-to-reach areas were rarely visually inspected at all. With the
addition of the network of A2Z AirDocks, and companion Longtail Patrol aircraft, the department was
able to trim the inspection time for this section of its system to just 1.5 hours. After proving the
efficiency of the Longtail’s repeatable autonomous patrol capabilities supported by the automatic-
charging capability of the AirDocks, the department sought to expand the reach of the dock network to
further improve its waterway monitoring mission.

“The initial phase of our AirDock network was transformative for our monitoring program,” said
ChongShan Wan, Director of the Anji Bureau of Water Resources. “We realized significant savings in
manpower and resources by conducting this monitoring from the air, so the decision to expand the
project and reach beyond the urban center was an investment we had proven to be valuable. The initial
trial also demonstrated that the AirDock network could simultaneously support the unmanned aerial
missions that other departments required, and have an economic impact for local eateries.”

Starting with its initial eight AirDocks, and quickly growing the network to 15 docking stations, the
Bureau shared the UAV infrastructure with first responders operating in the urban centers of Anji, and
opened the network to local restaurants for food deliveries during government downtime. To support
the mission criteria for the waterway patrols, a fleet of Longtail Patrol UAVs was outfitted with daytime
high-resolution cameras paired with nighttime infrared cameras. Adapting the onboard payload to the
needs of the first responders also incorporated a high-powered LED light for nighttime operations and a
megaphone to allow operators to communicate with people on the ground when necessary.

Layering a second small fleet comprised of Longtail Cargo variants, the AirDock network also enabled
local restaurants and cafes to offer drone delivery of meals and refreshments to excited customers.
The elevated design of the A2Z AirDock Quad and AirDock Dual versions meant the drones’ spinning
propellers are kept far from people and property on the ground.

Hotel guests throughout the region are able to place a food order through a Yelp-like app. Once
orders are prepared by the restaurant staff, they are brought to the closest AirDock where a delivery
drone awaits. When the Longtail lands on the elevated AirDock, it lowers its integrated A2Z
commercial drone winch to the waiting restaurant staffer who loads the food onto the patented
delivery hook. Eliminating the need for a trained hub operator to handle loading and unloading
simplifies the process and makes deliveries more cost-effective for customers. At its final destination
miles away, the Longtail Cargo safely delivers orders from altitude, automatically releasing the payload
as it is lowered from the winch at the hotel or resort.

Over the course of the trial program, residents and other governmental departments became
accustomed to the sight of UAVs conducting daily missions. The success of the trial also drew the
interest of other department heads eager to take advantage of aerial assets and the network of
AirDocks. As the project entered Phase 2, roadway inspections and search and rescue capabilities would
also be integrated with the fleet’s mission parameters.
Solution
With the first phase of the project effectively demonstrating the impacts that unmanned systems could
have across multiple municipal departments, and for local retailers to boost their bottom lines, the next
phase of the project was simply a matter of replication, just on a much larger scale.
Working with local government leaders, the A2Z Drone Delivery team analyzed the target 965-square-
mile region that would be served by the Phase 2 expansion and determined the ideal locations for the
elevated AirDocks to be installed. Designed to seamlessly blend into a built environment, the AirDocks
fit a similar footprint as a standard street light, making them easily integrated into an urban
environment. In more remote wooded areas, the AirDocks’ elevated designs enable automatic charging,
and payload logistics from high above trees or other potential obstructions. The team determined that a
total of 19 additional AirDock Quad and AirDock Dual units would provide comprehensive coverage for
all of the stakeholders seeking to operate varying use cases across the shared network. Installing up to
three AirDocks per day, the expansion came to life rapidly.
A2Z Drone Delivery engineers also worked with department teams to customize the Longtail Patrol
payload to accommodate the new roadway inspection and search and rescue missions. The level of
precision detail needed to spot cracks in roadways led the team to upgrade the Longtail Patrol’s
onboard high-res and infrared cameras and design a new data workflow to be supported by AI-powered
analysis platforms.
This improved AI capability is now also being leveraged by the water resource drones as well. With AI
detection occurring in real-time aboard the Longtail UAV, and AI-powered before-and-after comparisons
conducted on the cloud, the system is able to identify new algae blooms or potential signs of pollutants
Enabling restaurant staff to safely load food orders themselves eliminates the need for paid hub
operators.

in the waterways and autonomously compare them to the existing database. The specific locations of
potentially problematic sites are recorded and issued to water inspectors for follow-up inspection and
treatment. This process has greatly improved the efficiency of the water resource teams, allowing them
to refocus their time on more urgent needs.

Results
Completing the Phase 2 expansion of this A2Z AirDock network brought the county’s drone dock
infrastructure to 34 AirDocks that service multiple interoperable fleets of customized Longtail Patrol and
Longtail Cargo drones. With four governmental departments sharing the expanded dock network, the
overall hardware investment was able to be defrayed across multiple departmental budgets, making the
entire project far more financially feasible for the county. Now, the county is bringing aerial drone assets
to bear across 965 square miles, and exponentially more local restaurants and cafes are taking
advantage of the innovative network to stand up even more last-mile drone deliveries across the A2Z
AirDock network.