The city of Ontario in California is making smart city breakthroughs with drone deliveries, robot carts, e-scooters, smart hubs and a major retail development.

Virginia-based DroneUp has completed the first smart city drone delivery in Ontario, with Brookfield Properties at New Haven. Other firsts for the residents of Ontario and the New Haven masterplan community include a major retail openings at New Haven Marketplace.

The technology advancements result from long-term investment by the city of Ontario and Brookfield Properties, which define the city as one of the most progressive in the USA, providing technology that improves everyday life for residents. New Haven is the fastest growing community in California and fifth in the USA.

“The New Haven masterplan debuted in 2015 as a gigabit community, with lightning-fast downloads far surpassing other cities in the country,” said Ontario mayor Paul Leon. “Since then, our partnership with Brookfield Residential has continued to deliver the best, most cutting-edge and practical technology. It’s all about community, connectivity and convenience. And these new tools – enhancing and simplifying life at New Haven – boost sustainability and businesses while propelling Ontario among the nation’s top, smart-technology cities.”

DroneUp, with drone software company Airspace Link, worked to bring drone delivery from New Haven Marketplace businesses and services directly to residents via drone. Following these test trials, Ontario and New Haven plan to offer the first authorised drone flights in this large California city. These will also be the first flights near a major airport – Ontario International Airport – and the first drone flights with direct city involvement.

“We are pleased to see the leadership in Ontario ensure their community has the right safety procedures in place and is ready to support advanced commercial drone operations,” said Michael Healander, CEO of Airspace Link. “Brookfield Properties recognises a need for greater connectivity and convenience with residential homes and populations migrating out of downtown urban environments and into more rural and suburban environments.”

DroneUp develops SaaS platforms having patented mobile app technology available at the Apple App and Google Play stores.

“Drones are the future of developing smart cities,” said Tripp Shannon, CRO of DroneUp. “This is particularly true for residential and retail developments seeking to create an ecosystem where engaging drones can advance connecting people to services with speed and convenience, eliminating traffic while also offering sustainable and greener options for receiving goods and services. Ontario is forward-thinking. We are pleased to support their testing initiative to streamline city operations so that city planners can improve their understanding of how communities work together using technology.”

Headquartered in Virginia Beach, Virginia, DroneUp was founded in 2016 by Tom Walker. A privately held company, it works with more than 20,000 drone pilots to serve its customers.