To help deliver the mail to remote communities in the UK, The Royal Mail seeks a fleet of 500 drones. It hopes that about 200 drones will help carry the mail on new routes in the next three years. The islands first benefitting from these changes would be the Isles of Scilly, Shetland Islands, Orkney Islands, and the Hebrides. To make it a reality, the approval of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is needed.
Royal Mail stated that the new routes would
depend upon the "ongoing planned improvement in Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
economics." It has been testing drone use for a while now. The most recent
trial was held on the Shetland Islands in April. The drones delivered mail
between Tingwall Airport in Lerwick to Unst, a 41-mile flight each way.
No Replacements
Many companies aim
to deliver via autonomous drones that winch down packages from hovering
vehicles. The Royal Mint plans to use drones that don't deliver, and they won't
replace postmen or women doing their rounds.
The Drones
The drones Royal
Mail wants to use are large, measure about 10m, and have a range of 621 miles
or 1,000km. They can carry about 220 lb or 100 kg of weight and are powered by
two internal combustion engines.
Chris Paxton,
head of drone trials at Royal Mail, shared that the drones were originally
designed to deliver aid in Africa. He said, "They are able to take off in
a relatively short space and land in a similar short area. So they are capable
of landing on fields, providing the area is flat enough. They are very much
like a small plane. And the only difference is there isn't a pilot on
board."
He also
mentioned that the drones could fly autonomously, but they will be remotely
supervised by safety pilots who can take control if required. The drones are
designed to cover the middle mile. Once the cargo is unloaded, the packages will
be delivered by postal workers only.
The Benefits
The Royal Mail
believes that drones can help reduce carbon emissions. They can also work
smoothly in bad weather as compared to conventional aircraft.
Paxton stated, "There
is no need for the pilot to be able to see where they're going, which means
they can fly in fog. And because they're flying rather than going on the sea,
they're also not relying on tides."
Addressing
the Problem
Analyst Kay
Wackwitz of Drone Industry Insights state that the middle mile transportation
"addresses an essential problem for remote regions." He said, "In
comparison to ferries, island delivery can be done more quickly, more flexibly,
and at a smaller ecological footprint."
The
Permission
The Royal Mail
will need CAA approval to fly the drones for delivery. The CAA stated that it
was in the "very early stages" of discussions with Royal Mail about
its plans.
Paxton said, "We
are working with them, we're committed to working with them to open up the
skies, and confident that we'll be able to do that."
Sources:
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-61409558
https://travellifo.com/news/royal-mail-wants-fleet-of-500-drones-to-carry-mail-to-remote-uk-communities/