Getting the Par-TEA Started: Alibaba Tests Parcel Delivery Drones in China

Getting the Par-TEA Started: Alibaba Tests Parcel Delivery Drones in China

by | Jul 17, 2015 | Air | 0 comments

Alibaba’s Taobao tested delivering ginger tea bags via drone Unmanned Cargo Delivery Concept – Chronicle 11 Drones are delivering ginger tea in China  (February 04, 2015) (Editor’s Note: Limited pilot drone delivery program to help Alibaba market its e-commerce ecosystem.) What the Article Chronicles:  In February 2015, Alibaba’s online marketplace, Taobao, partnered up with YTO Express to run a real world test in Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai, allowing 450 people (on a first-come-first-served basis) to order ginger tea and receive it via UAV in less than an hour. For only 49 renimbi (US$ 7.84), those lucky enough to be able to participate in the pilot project were able to have a “unique and innovative shopping experience”. Destinations and routes were pre-set by staff upon receipt of order thus allowing the five quadcopters forming the trial delivery fleet to automatically deliver their payload. However, the tea deliveries were not performed directly to the customers’ doors, rather the parcel drones landed in pre-designated landing areas near residential areas similarly to S.F. Express’ concept given that delivery needed to be confirmed by signature. Unfortunately, there are no further plans to expand this concept. Link to the promotional Alibaba video can be found here or here. Official UAV / Drone Name: Not specified however it most likely was the YTO X650. Basic UAV/ Drone Description:  Quadcopter Payload: Up to 1 kilogram (2.2 lb) however the ginger tea packages delivered were limited to a maximum of 340 grams (12 oz). Range: Maximum of 10 km (6.2 miles) Speed: Not specified. Companies Involved: Alibaba YTO Express   What are your thoughts on the use of unmanned tea delivery drones in China? Comment below!...
500 Drone Deliveries a Day – Drone Delivery Services Booming in China

500 Drone Deliveries a Day – Drone Delivery Services Booming in China

by | Jul 14, 2015 | Air | 0 comments

S.F. Express Planning to Perform 1,000 Courier-to-Courier Drone Deliveries Per Day Unmanned Cargo Delivery Concept – Chronicle 10 原来如此 顺丰无人机物流细节首次公布 “Shun Feng non-pilot plane logistic details is published for the first time” (February 16, 2015) (Editor’s Note: Original article posted in Chinese. Google Translate as well as related articles from the DailyMail.com and DiscoverMagazine.com were used to compile this unmanned cargo chronicle.) What Article Chronicles:  S.F. Express, in partnership with XAircraft, began experimenting with drone deliveries in Dongguan, China back in 2013. Today, the Shenzhen-based company performs approximately 500 drone deliveries a day and has plans to expand its area of services to seven regions while at the same time doubling the number of daily packages it delivers. What sets these drone deliveries apart is that they are made between couriers and not directly to end-consumers as envisioned by Amazon, Swiss Post or Matternet. Packages are still delivered by couriers to the customer’s front door. What the S.F. Express low-altitude logistics concept does is replace the trucks that are typically used in the intermediate shipments. Goods are first loaded onto the drone by a courier at the point of origin (e.g. distribution warehouse) and the package is scanned to confirm the delivery address. The UAV then automatically flies to its destination. A message is sent alerting the receiving courier to clear the designated landing area. When the drone arrives, the parcel is scanned once again and unloaded from the drone. The UAV then returns to its base automatically. In China, commercial drone use is legal, nevertheless the work is carried out in close cooperation with the Civil Aviation Regulatory Authority as S.F. Express plans to expand its...
Swiss Postal Delivery via Drones – Tests to run until end of July

Swiss Postal Delivery via Drones – Tests to run until end of July

by | Jul 9, 2015 | Air | 0 comments

Swiss Post Testing Drones for Mail Delivery Unmanned Cargo Delivery Concept – Chronicle 10 Swiss Post, Swiss WorldCargo and Matternet Start Drone Tests ( July 10, 2015) (Editor’s Note: Swiss postal delivery concept was originally touched upon back in April as mentioned in this post.) What Article Chronicles:  Switzerland’s postal service, Swiss Post, announced on Tuesday, July 7th, that it had begun testing parcel deliveries via unmanned cargo drones. Tests will run until the end of July. The goal is to test the practical use as well as cost-effectiveness of drones in delivery logistics, not just for mail/parcel delivery but also for emergency situations (e.g. delivery of emergency relief supplies or high priority consignments such as laboratory samples). The widespread use of drones, however, is not expected within the next five years. Current barriers to everyday use include the Swiss regulatory framework and existing technical limitations such as limited battery life. Official UAV / Drone Name: To be determined. Several Matternet Models, particularly the Matternet ONE, will be used in the drone tests. Basic UAV/ Drone Description:  Autonomous, “snow-white”, “light structure” quadcopter that can follow pre-programmed flight routes established by cloud software from Matternet. Payload: Up to 1 kg (2.2 lb) via small thermally insulated containers. Range: Approximately 10 km (6.2 miles). Speed: Unknown. Companies Involved: Swiss Post Swiss WorldCargo Matternet   What are your thoughts on the use of unmanned postal delivery drones? Comment below!...
German Cargo Drones Delivering Blood Samples

German Cargo Drones Delivering Blood Samples

by | Jul 8, 2015 | Air | 1 comment

German Cargo Drones Delivering Blood Samples Unmanned Cargo Delivery Concept – Chronicle 09 Drohnen: Fliegende Helfer für die Krankenhauslogistik ( April 20, 2015) (Editor’s Note: Original article is in German, title translates to “Drones: Flying Helpers for Hospital Logistics”.) What Article Chronicles: A chain of three German hospitals, the Agaplesion Frankfurter Diakonie Kliniken, wants to use drones to transport blood and lab samples. Circa 50 to 70 times per year, blood must be quickly delivered from the central blood bank and laboratory to one of the chain’s three hospitals as part of an emergency situation. However, due to typical Frankfurt rush hour traffic, it can take up to 20 minutes for a 5 km (3.1 mile) trip. An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) could potentially do the same trip in 5 minutes. Agaplesion partnered up with HiSystems Gmbh to test out the concept. As Mr. Dennis Göbel, managing director of Agaplesion states, this is not “an Amazon-type business – we want to save lives, not deliver books.” German and EU laws require that drones remain in view of their pilots at all times and prohibit flight over densely populated areas. Drones may also not fly higher than 100 meters (328 feet). As such, test flights for the unmanned drone delivery of blood and laboratory sample have only occurred on private land but the maiden flight over the Frankfurt cityscape is still pending. Official UAV / Drone Name: MikroKopter Basic UAV/ Drone Description:  All-weather, 4.5 kg (9.9 lb), six-rotor UAV with three-dimensional locating and positioning capabilities via onboard camera, GPS and air pressure sensors. In case of emergency maneuvers, the drone...
Cargo Delivery Drones Public/Private Partnership in South Korea

Cargo Delivery Drones Public/Private Partnership in South Korea

by | Jul 2, 2015 | Air | 0 comments

CJ Group Cargo Drones Unmanned Cargo Delivery Concept – Chronicle 08 CJ Group Unveils Cargo Carrying Drones (May 15, 2015) (Editor’s Note: South Korean government/private cooperation between Ministry of Public Safety and Security and the CJ Group to use drones to deliver cargo, food and medicines in times of disaster) What the Article Chronicles:  South Korea’s Ministry of Public Safety and Security has partnered up with CJ Korea Express, the country’s largest cargo delivery company, to develop and provide drones that can deliver much needed disaster relief supplies. This is the first time a private company will be given permission to start unmanned aerial vehicle services in South Korea. So far, three drones have been developed with 3 more in the pipeline. In the long term,  CJ Korea Express hopes to capitalize on its emerging disaster relief operations experience to launch a commercial drone delivery service to remote and isolated areas as soon as the current South Korean UAV operation laws change. Official UAV / Drone Name: CJ Sky Door Basic UAV/ Drone Description:  Midsized drone with four 3-bladed rotors. Payload: Up 3 kg (6.6 lb) of disaster relief goods via a cargo box or via a detachable container. Range: A maximum altitude of 4,000 m (13,123 feet) and a 20 km (12.4 mile) flying radius. Speed: Up to 60 km/hr ( 37 mi/hr) for 70 minutes. Companies Involved: CJ Korea Express South Korea’s Ministry of Public Safety and Security What are your thoughts on the unmanned cargo delivery public/private partnership concept? Comment...