The Transportation Department is set to announce Wednesday the 10 winning local, tribal and state government agencies of a pilot program that will allow them to test unmanned aerial systems through partnerships with technology companies, Reuters reported Wednesday.Sources said Apple, Intel, Amazon, Airbus and Qualcomm are among the companies that submitted applications for the program.
The report said Qualcomm will work with AT&T and Verizon Communications to test network connectivity, while Airbus has expressed interest to perform risk analysis for airspace management.
A U.S. official said approximately 149 applications involving more than 200 companies have been submitted for the program and the winning projects will deal with package delivery, precision agriculture, drone integration into airports, pipeline oversight and environmental monitoring.
