Swiss Post drones take to the air
Swiss Post, Swiss WorldCargo and Matternet announced yesterday (7 July) that their joint tests for the commercial use of logistics drones are taking place this month. In an official statement, Swiss Post said that “the widespread use of drones is not expected within the next five years”, but “possible areas of application offered by drone technology are very diverse, ranging from delivery to peripheral areas to the express delivery of goods”.
The postal operator continued: “Until the time of their realistic commercial use in around five years, there are various requirements which need to be clarified. This includes the regulatory framework. In addition, there are technical restrictions with the drones of today, such as limited battery life.”
The tests taking place this month will help the partners pinpoint the technical possibilities offered by drones.
“From today’s point of view,” said Swiss Post, “the use of drones in emergency situations is conceivable. This could, for example, involve bringing supplies to an area that has been cut off from the outside world following a storm. Another realistic possibility is the urgent transport of consignments with the highest priority, such as laboratory tests. Which specific uses will prevail depends on how quickly the regulatory requirements are clarified and technical obstacles dismantled.”
The tests will be conducted using Matternet ONE drones, which have been specifically designed for transporting small deliveries and are simple to operate. The Matternet ONE, which can carry loads of up to 1 kilogram for more than 10 kilometres with a single battery charge, can fly autonomously, “following clearly defined, secure flight paths, which are drawn up by cloud software developed by Matternet”.
Speaking at the launch yesterday, Dieter Bambauer, Leiter PostLogistics, said: “We are guessing that specific applications [for drones] will be realistic within five to ten years. It is not realistic that drones
will take over conventional nationwide delivery in the future. This is unthinkable in our already
overloaded, small airspace when more than 500,000 postal parcels are currently delivered per day, and
over a million per day during the Christmas season. The focus of the tests is the utilization of drones in
special situations or for transporting special items.”
