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A future where your package is dropped from the sky by a friendly little drone is closer than you think. UK’s first drone delivery service was launched in Scotland, and there are already plans for more routes.
The small Orkney Islands in Northern Scotland are now receiving mail delivered by drones (each capable of carrying up to six kilograms of payload), a service that will continue daily between the three islands for the next three months, with plans for extension.
This is a joint project between the Royal Mail and a London-based drone company called Skyports Drone Services. Both letters and packages will be transported from the Royal Mail’s delivery office to drop-off places on the islands, from which the drones will be dispatched to the islands where postal workers will finish the delivery routes.
According to Cybernews, this drone delivery service is made possible by the “unique” landscape of Orkney and the proximity of the three islands that allow drone flights to be conducted under the existing regulatory framework.
The delivery drones are called the Electric Speedbird Aero DLV-2 multirotor drones, and will be used to make deliveries. This region has challenging weather conditions and geography, and the trial is expected to improve service levels, delivery times, and postal staff safety.
Chris Paxton, head of drone trials at Royal Mail, also states that these fully electric drones serve the postal service’s “continued drive” to reduce emissions.
This previous year, the Royal Mail expressed its aim to secure more than 50 drone routes that up to 200 drones would service over the next three years, and its longer-term vision holds 500 drones that will service all of the UK.
There are more places in the world where drone delivery services are being trialed nowadays, most notably by Amazon in parts of the US.
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