Game of Drones
A drone is
an unmanned, aerial vehicle. And the changing times, like the situation we are
in, the COVID-19 has pushed the application of drones in delivery services. The
adoption of the technique has paced. Firms like Amazon, who aim to provide its
customers same day delivery see drones as an answer to the same day delivery
services they wish to provide.
Firms, in
India as well as outside have started testing drones to adopt these services in
order to speed up the last mile delivery services, making tracking easy and
efficient for customers and firms.
Here are a
few real time examples of firms testing their drones under government
guidelines.
Amazon Prime Air gets FAA clearance for drone delivery on ‘highly rural’ test range
The Federal
Aviation Administration has granted Amazon a part 135 exemption in the form of
a standard operating certificate, which allows the company to begin drone
delivery within a certain test range. The reason why Amazon and others are
pushing for drone-based delivery services is twofold - one, it provides speed,
and two, it can provide efficiency. Dealing with the promise of same-day
delivery is difficult when all the deliveries are made with the traditional
van. Same day delivery is not possible with vans as they are filled in the
morning, which means companies must provide a cut-off time for same-day delivery.
And the testing is done in rural areas because rural areas have long been seen
as a potential primary beneficiary of drone delivery, given that last-mile
logistics is more expensive.
Walmart pilots drone delivery for groceries
with Flytrex
Flytrex is a
firm providing real life drone services. The pilot program will deliver
"select grocery and household essential items" from Walmart stores to
homes in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Walmart has patented dozens of drone
delivery solutions and began detailing its plans in a request for exemption
filed by its logistics division to the FAA in 2015. Flytrex says its drone can
carry 6.6 pounds for 3.5 miles and back, according to the company's website.
The most recent model has some limitations as it "does not fly in the rain
and at wind gusts stronger than 18 miles per hour." The testing will take
place at a Walmart on the west side of the city chosen for proximity to
residential neighbourhood.
Dunzo
ready for Aerial deliveries
Earlier in
June, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had shortlisted 10
consortia to conduct “beyond visual line of sight” (BVLOS) drone projects for
deliveries, surveillance and more. Dunzo will be conducting its trials in the
outskirts of Bengaluru. Dunzo Air Consortium has nearly eight members with
expertise in various fields such as unmanned traffic management (UTM), unmanned
aerial vehicle (UAV) system, long term evolution (LTE), drone operations, 3D
mapping and safety, insurance. All members have certain responsibilities that
they fulfill in the consortium.
Zomato
readies aerial delivery services, Swiggy might join soon
Earlier in
June, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had shortlisted 10
consortia to conduct “beyond visual line of sight” (BVLOS) drone projects for
deliveries, surveillance and more. Zomato has been allocated Alwar in Rajasthan
for the test. Zomato’s air consortium, ClearSky Flight Consortium, also
consists of seven-eight members including VI (Vodafone Idea) as telecom partner
and Gurugram-based drone startup TechEagle, along with safety partners,
insurance partners and others.
The race for
retail drone deliveries has picked up the pace in recent months with Amazon, UPS, Walgreens and Rouse Market all taking steps toward making the technology part of
their supply chains.
People
believe that it eventually might happen that drone delivery will become a part
of our daily lives. With many firms seeing a high potential in the area and
investing in the same.
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