In the first commercial drone test completed in Singapore, SingPost was able to successfully use a drone to deliver mail in just five short minutes.
The national post service partnered with Infocomm Development Authority labs to build the four-winged drone using the open-source Pixhawk Steadidrone Platform. SingPost then equipped the drone with a package that contained a T-shirt on the top of the drone and deployed it to a location that was over one mile (2 km) away on the island of Pulau Ubin.
SingPost said its battery-operated drone can hold a load up to one pound (0.5 kg) for a distance of 1.4 mi (2.3 km).
The mail recipient, in theory, would be able to choose a location to pick up the package, such as outside their office or at a nearby park. They would then accept the delivery using an accompanying app.
The drone service would benefit those who reside in more remote locations where same-day delivery is not an option.
Does this mean the days of waiting for the mailman to hand-deliver your mail may be numbered in Singapore? Not necessarily. First off, SingPost has no plans of deploying a drone mail delivery service for at least for five more years since it has to improve security measures. The trial run was only to test the technology and safety. It will first need government clearance to be able to fly the commercial drones as it moves forward with the service.
What about the hard-working people whose jobs could be jeopardy? They will keep their jobs, and instead, the post service would only use drones in Singapore to increase the speed of delivery, although SingPost works in 22 countries.
Instead, SingPost has the goal of becoming an e-commerce provider for same-day deliveries, much like Amazon Prime Air. Amazon has recently revealed its plans to how it will use drones, which it says will fly at different heights and speeds in "superhighways" in the sky.
Via: Digital Trends
