(SINGAPORE)
Drones will soon be delivering parcels to customers in Singapore thanks to a collaboration deal signed between Airbus Helicopters and SingPost.
The pair are joining forces on the Skyways parcel delivery initiative, which aims to transform how people send and receive parcels in urban areas. They will test the new logistics concept using drones to deliver small packages on the National University of Singapore (NUS) campus early next year.
Airbus Helicopters, who will provide the systems, announced its partnership with SignPost and the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at today’s first ever Rotorcraft Asia exhibition.
“Skyways was launched with the intent to provide highly efficient, reliable and seamless small parcel deliveries using drones in urban cities. The project has been progressing well and we welcome SingPost onboard as our logistics partner in this critical phase, as we work in tandem to develop a robust autonomous parcel delivery system that will revolutionise the logistics industry,” said Airbus Helicopters’ Executive Vice President of Engineering and Chief Technical Officer Jean-Brice Dumont. “A forerunner in innovation, Airbus strongly believes in improving daily lives by enhancing air mobility in urban spaces, in a safe, secure and reliable manner.”
Mervyn Lim, SingPost’s Covering Group CEO, added: “Drones and other autonomous vehicles are in the future of the logistics industry. The demonstrator that Airbus Helicopters and SingPost will be developing is designed to address real-world challenges such as safe and accurate flight in high rise cities, while meeting the needs of customers. Our trial will involve SingPost’s parcel locker technology, and this MoU fits well into our long term plans to develop future generations of parcel delivery points that involve drones and the vertical dimension. Together with Airbus Helicopters’ technologists, SingPost’s engineers will be working to ensure the concept meets the future logistics needs of urban environments like Singapore.”
