HomeUPS Drone Delivery Test – Company Successfully Delivered a Package With a Drone

UPS Drone Delivery Test – Company Successfully Delivered a Package With a Drone

The world’s largest package delivery company (UPS) have successfully completed a drone package delivery.

United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS ) is the world’s largest package delivery company and a provider of supply chain management solutions. The global logistics company is headquartered in the city of Sandy Springs, Georgia , United States.

The delivery company announced yesterday that it had successfully tested a drone that launches from atop one of its UPS-brown delivery cars. Cool thing is – the drone delivers a package itself, autonomously, after which it then returns to the vehicle. And for your information, all this takes its course while the driver continues to drive along a route, delivering packages.

The UPS drone delivery test was carried out on Monday in Tampa, Florida in conjunction with the Workhorse Group. This Ohio-based manufacturer (Workhorse Group) designed and built both the electric delivery truck, and the drone itself.

UPS Drone Delivery

The drone used for the test was the “Workhorse HorseFly”. This innovational octocopter sports a cage which lowers into the truck. The cage is where the package is put. Upon entry into the truck, the driver inserts the package in the cage, and presses a button on a touchscreen. This sends the HorseFly on its route. And while docked, the HorseFly recharges.

This model, the HorseFly, according to UPS, has an endurance of 30-minutes, and can lift packages as heavy as 10 pounds (around 4.5 kilograms).

The delivery company believes that by utilizing drones in its services, it will be able to expand and improve the availability and quality of its delivery service to rural areas.

“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,” says Mark Wallace, UPS senior vice president of global engineering and sustainability.

“Imagine a triangular delivery route where the stops are miles apart by road. 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.”

A good innovative move from UPS I must commend. I’m very positive it’s only a matter of time before they begin full fledged implementation of drones into their delivery service after this successful test.

UPS Drone Delivery all the way!

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Samuel Afolabi is a lazy tech-savvy that loves writing almost all tech-related kinds of stuff. He is the Editor-in-Chief of TechVaz. You can connect with him socially :)

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