A new drone delivery test takes off
UPS is the latest company to try its hand at drone deliveries.
The delivery company has successfully tested a drone on Monday, Feb. 20, in Lithia, Florida. Called an octocopter drone, the device launches from atop of a UPS package car, autonomously delivers a package to a home, and then returns to the vehicle while the driver continues along the route to make a separate delivery.
UPS partnered with Workhorse Group, an Ohio-based battery-electric truck and drone developer, which built the drone and the electric UPS package car used in the test.
The device, which is fully integrated with Workhorse’s line of electric/hybrid delivery trucks, docks on the roof of the delivery truck. A cage suspended beneath the drone extends through a hatch into the truck.
A UPS driver loads a package into the cage and presses a button on a touch screen, sending the drone on a preset autonomous route to an address. The battery-powered drone recharges while it’s docked. It has a 30-minute flight time and can carry a package weighing up to 10 pounds, UPS said.
For this test, Workhorse preset the route for the drone. But in the future, routes could be determined by UPS’s On-Road Integrated Optimization and Navigation (ORION), the company’s proprietary routing software.
“This test is different than anything we’ve done with drones so far. It has implications for future deliveries, especially in rural locations where our package cars often have to travel miles to make a single delivery,” said Mark Wallace, UPS senior VP of global engineering and sustainability.
“Imagine a triangular delivery route where the stops are miles apart by road,” he added. “Sending a drone from a package car to make just one of those deliveries can reduce costly miles driven. This is a big step toward bolstering efficiency in our network and reducing our emissions at the same time.”
This is UPS’ latest try at drone deliveries. Other tests included Zipline drones to deliver blood in Rwanda, as well as commercial deliveries to remote locations using a drone from CyPhy, TechCrunch said.
Other retailers evaluating the benefits of drone deliveries include Amazon, 7-Eleven and Domino’s.