UPS, the world’s largest courier service, is about to deliver a drone freight system after demonstrating its first successful test to the public.
Designed to reduce the distance drivers travel, the the delivery system uses drones launched from the roof of a customized UPS van while it is in transit. Once in the air, the octocopter autonomously delivers a package to a customer’s home and then returns to the van while the vehicle continues on its route.
With a 30-minute flight time and a maximum payload for packages up to ten pounds, the drone system as it stands has its limitations. UPS demonstrated the concept to the press at a test in Tampa, Florida. The first scheduled flight went smoothly, but an impromptu flight for journalists almost ended in the drone’s destruction after a failed take-off.
While UPS doesn’t share how much money the drone system would save the company, it estimates that it could save up to $50 million by cutting down drivers routes just by one mile each day.
UPS hasn’t shared a timeline for when the drone system would launch, but as one of the 35 companies given approval for drone flights by the FAA, the company doesn’t seem to have any regulatory obstacles.
Check out the UPS drone in action below. Or in 360º here.
—RealClearLife
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