AI-rewritten: This is a summary of an article from MIT Technology Review, rewritten by AI (Qwen, running locally) to make it easier to read. The facts come from the original article – read it for the full story.

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Trevor Wischnewsky is now a remote pilot in command at FlyTrex, a role similar to an air traffic controller but for delivery drones. He manages fleets of hexacopter drones that transport cargo within a three-mile radius of Dallas. His job involves coordinating traffic with swarms from competitors like Zipline, Amazon, and Alphabet’s Wing using inputs from GPS, lasers, and sensors. To work there, Wischnewsky needed an FAA drone pilot certification and completed weeks of FAA-approved training.

The biggest challenge for these pilots is trusting the technology, as traditional aviation often advises against relying on automation. However, FlyTrex uses a network called unmanned aircraft systems traffic management (UTM) to share coordinates in real time. This system helps avoid collisions even when drones are beyond the pilot’s line of sight. Wischnewsky acts as a safety net, monitoring up to 10 drones at once. He noted that weather remains the most common hazard, recalling a day where sudden winds forced him to intervene and return a drone carrying an ice cream cake safely.

Eamon Whalen is the reporter covering these developments. The article highlights how this new job requires keen situational awareness despite advanced automation. While the technology handles much of the routing, human oversight is essential for handling unexpected events like sudden weather changes.