Bipedal Package Delivery Drones?

Bipedal Package Delivery Drones?

by | Jan 12, 2020 | Land, News Brief | 0 comments

Bipedal Package Delivery Drones? 0 Comments Written by Ric  January 12, 2020 Image Source: Agility Robotics Ford recently announced they bought the first two units of Agility Robotics’ “Digit”, a commercially available bipedal package delivery robot that can pick and stack packages of up to 40 lbs (18 kg). The move is part of Ford’s current exploration into last-mile logistics, particularly in the case of supporting self-driving delivery vans. Digit’s bipedal design allows it to better navigate through complex, human environments such as stairs, a key obstacle for autonomous curb-to-doorstep delivery. It’s four degree-of-freedom (4-DOF) arms also allow it to it push open doors or even push itself up after falling down. According to the Verge, each Digit unit is priced in the low to mid six figures. However when factoring in maintenance and lifespan, this number roughly translates into an hourly cost of ~ $25.  In addition to door-to-door logistics, the 100 pound (45 kg) Digit could potentially perform warehouse/stockroom work, or even infrastructure inspection as part of its delivery route. Image Source: Agility Robotics Related Articles Browse All Categories...
Irish Post Delivery Drone?

Irish Post Delivery Drone?

by | Jul 10, 2018 | Air, News Brief | 0 comments

“Drone deliveries will not replace regular (mail) service, but it is going to be part of the future.” Delivery drones and postal deliveries go hand in hand, just take a look at DHL’s Parcelcopter or Singpost’s mail delivery concept and you get an inkling of the huge potential. Last Thursday, Ireland’s postal service (An Post) flew a delivery drone, nicknamed “Postman Padraig”, to complete Ireland’s first ever autonomous parcel delivery from mainland to island. The DJI based drone flew 5,561 meters (~3.5 miles) in 11 minutes and 20 seconds over water to deliver a small trinket to a customer on Clare Island (please see flight path below). Not much else is known at the moment except An Post is considering more plans to incorporate drones to complement its service in rural areas. More info...
Chinese Supermarket Delivery Drone?

Chinese Supermarket Delivery Drone?

by | Jun 27, 2018 | Air, News Brief | 0 comments

“Drones push aerial logistics, technology pushes retail.” China is really ramping up food delivery via drone. Super Species (a convenience store part of Yonghui Supermarkets) has teamed up with Ehang Smart Technology (of aerial taxi fame) to deliver up to 500 grams (1.1 lbs) of perishables (such as prawns, salmon, beef, fruit and organic products) to customers within a 4.5 km radius from their store in in Guangzhou, China. By using drones, they have eliminated 40-60% of traffic time and report reducing operational costs by 50%. Since initial launch in May 2018, over 600 deliveries have been safely completed. According to ProduceReport, the process begins when nearby consumers place an order on Yonghui’s smartphone application or WeChat. Automatic determination is made whether delivery will be done by traditional ground transport or by drone. Upon receipt of order, an onsite worker will load the drone and press the “take off” button. The drone then follows a predetermined route to a predetermined spot at least 100 meters away from the final destination. A delivery man completes the final part of the delivery by land. The current quadcopter model being used can fly up to 40 km/h (24.85 mph) and deliver up to 500 grams of goods within a 4.5 km (2.8 mi) radius. The carrying capacity of future models is expected to increase to 5 kg (11 lbs) within a 7 km (4.35 mi) radius.   More info...
Chinese Takeaway Meal Delivery By Drone?

Chinese Takeaway Meal Delivery By Drone?

by | Jun 21, 2018 | Air, News Brief | 0 comments

Meal delivery drones will operate in an industrial zone in Shanghai, China. Ele.me has been given the green light to operate along 17 newly approved routes over a 58 square kilometer industrial zone in Shanghai. Consumers will be able to receive online takeaway meal orders via drones within 20 minutes (at no extra charge) after confirming the delivery on their smartphones.  Personnel at the delivery points will distribute the meals carried by each drone directly to the specified addresses of customers. This is expected to significantly lower operating costs compared with normal delivery methods given that delivery personnel will only need to run 15% of the routes. The E7 drone model likely to be used can carry up to 6 kg and fly as far as 20 km at a maximum speed of 65 km per hour. Approximately 100 different restaurants operating inside the Jinshan Industrial Park are participating. More info...
Deutsche Post To Test Ground Based Mail Delivery Drones

Deutsche Post To Test Ground Based Mail Delivery Drones

by | Oct 23, 2017 | Land, News Brief | 0 comments

Mail delivery robot “assistant” will automatically follow postal workers in Germany PostBOT is an all-weather, ground-based drone that will accompany postal workers along their delivery routes. It can carry up to 150 kg (330 lb) of mail and packages. The robot was designed with considerable input from Deutsche Post personnel and was built by the French company Effidence which won the DHL Robotics Challenge last year. The main goal of this mail-toting machine is to ease the physical challenge of the job even as the postal workers continue to age. The current version of PostBOT is 150 cm (4 ft 11 inches) tall and can travel at speeds of up to 6 km/h (3.7 mph). In case you are wondering how the four-wheeled mail delivery bot will handle steps, well, according to The Postal Hub there are no steps in Bad Hersfeld where the six week trial is set to begin later this year. It will be interesting to see how PostBOT will interact with the Parcelcopter, DHL’s tiltwing delivery...