The South Korean Transport Ministry reports that the country has recently trialled an autonomous drone food delivery service after rising demand for non-contact services due to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to albawaba.com.
In a test held in the administrative city of Sejong, some 130 kms southeast of Seoul, five drones delivered meals and other products to people at homes two to three kms away within 10 minutes including flying across a lake and delivering to high-rise apartments.
The five drones used in the trial and built by Korean manufacturers are multi-purpose and include hydrogen fuel-cell craft suitable for long flights, as well as those used in logistics and port surveillance.
Jeong Yong-sik, Director General in charge of Aviation Policy at the Ministry, commented, “Improvements need to be made before adopting the mid-to-long distance delivery services in urban areas as various challenges need to be addressed. These include delivery to high-rise buildings, maximum payload limits and weather-related issues.”
South Korea aims to establish a presence in the drone delivery services markets, where competition is fierce among global logistics powerhouses, such as U.S. e-commerce giant Amazon.com, Inc. and German delivery services company DHL.
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(News Source: https://www.albawaba.com)
