Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) trial run for drone
delivery of medicines was successfully completed in Bengaluru on Friday.
The pilot was led by Throttle Aerospace Systems (TAS) and
UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) under the supervision of the Director-General of
Civil Aviation (DGCA).
The trial was conducted within a 15-km radius at
Gauribidanur on the outskirts of Bengaluru by UDAN for the last mile delivery
of medicines.
During the pilot, two variants of drones were successfully
tested-- Medcopter X4 and Medcopter X8-- with simulated deliveries to UDAN
customers. Pharma Deliveries of up to 2kg payload were tested at various
distances in the designated area varying from 2-7 kilometres aerial distance.
The pilot deliveries saw an average of 3.5 kilometres
distance being covered in 5-7 minutes. Two different modes of deliveries were
also tested--tethered lowering of shipment and landing of copter with the
shipment.
The success of the pilot run opens up the possibility of
using beyond-line-of-sight drones for last-mile delivery of shipments in
minimum time, to areas with improper road connectivity as well as faster
deliveries in dense urban settings.
Once commercialised, in addition to regular deliveries in
remote areas, the technology can also be used to supply lifesaving drugs and
medicines at the time of the natural disaster, pandemics, and calamities to the
remotest corners of the country without facing any infrastructure or logistical
challenges.
The trial conducted by TAS and UDAN is a testimony of their
commitment to build a world-class supply chain to ensure medicines and
essentials can reach easily every corner of India.
"The efforts by the authorities to integrate drones in
the supply-chain ecosystem is a major step towards creating a framework for
efficient last-mile delivery.
The success of today''s trial run opens a massive
opportunity to revolutionize customer experience in the distribution and
logistics space. It is aligned with our vision to build tech-enabled solutions
to empower small businesses such as kiranas, shop owners, chemists, and MSMEs
that are based in the remote corners of Bharat," said Soumyadeep
Mukherjee, Product Engineer of UDAN.