ID :
382953
Thu, 10/08/2015 - 07:32
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SingPost, IDA Develop Drone For Mail Delivery To Singapore's Pulau Ubin

By Tengku Noor Shamsiah Tengku Abdullah SINGAPORE, Oct 8 (Bernama) -- Singapore Post (SingPost) has successfully completed a trial for the world's first postal service using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV, also known as drone). In a statement, it said this was done via joint development with the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA). It said a last-mile mail and packet drone delivery trial was successfully completed between Lorong Halus in mainland Singapore and Pulau Ubin. SingPost said the drone, which was built upon the Pixhawk Steadidrone platform by IDA Labs to meet the new conceptual delivery platform from SingPost, is tailored for use in a challenging environment like Singapore. This is the first time in the world a postal service has successfully used an UAV for point-to-point recipient-authenticated mail delivery. The B2C eCommerce market in Asia Pacific is expected to reach US$175 billion by 2016 and SingPost, which is equipped to handle postal and non-postal delivery, customs clearance and eCommerce warehousing, is emerging as a market leader in Southeast Asia. The five-minute test flight carried a letter as well as t-shirt in a packet and flew a total distance of two kilometres. The drone is equipped with enhanced safety features, and is complemented with a prototype app designed with security and verification features that ensures the mail reaches its intended recipient. It can carry a payload of up to half a kilogramme, fly at a height of up to 45 metres and travel a distance of 2.3 kilometres. The focus of the flight was to test the drone technology and safety boundaries. SingPost group chief executive officer Dr Wolfgang Baier said there is immense potential in UAV technology for last-mile mail and ecommerce delivery. The multi-agency Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Committee facilitated this trial. Its chairman, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Transport Pang Kin Keong said, "The technology opens up numerous exciting possibilities which could help us enhance operational productivity, efficiency and effectiveness. All this, of course, needs to be carried in a safe manner, both for the public as well as aviation." --BERNAMA

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