Fastway NZ claims world-first drone delivery

Fastway Couriers (www.fastway.com.au) has invested in ‘Flirtey’, claimed to be the world’s first commercial aerial delivery service.

Fastway New Zealand and Flirtey recently successfully trialled the first drone parcel delivery in Auckland, transporting auto parts on a 1.9 kilometre trip, bypassing factories and traffic congested roads below. (To see the journey of the drone, visit http://bit.ly/1Ny8THO or http://bit.ly/1HwrBQ2).

Chief executive officer at Fastway Couriers Australia Richard Thame said:

“We’re very impressed by the recent trial untaken by our counterparts in New Zealand. Drone technology is rapidly progressing and may present future opportunities for increasing speed of delivery, particularly in traffic congested areas.”

By road, the same delivery route takes close to 20 minutes to complete, depending on congestion. During the trial, transporting by aerial drone took less than a quarter of the time, as it was able to travel uninterrupted.

Chief executive officer at Flirtey Matthew Sweeny said:

“This is a significant moment because it is the first commercial drone delivery over a populated area in New Zealand. Together with companies like Fastway, we have an opportunity to offer safe and reliable technology to turn drone delivery into a reality. As the entire concept and its technology continues to evolve, the sky is the limit. We’re pioneering a future where anything a consumer orders can be delivered directly via an unmanned aerial vehicle.”

The Flirtey delivery drone is constructed from carbon fibre, aluminium and 3D printed components. It’s a lightweight, autonomous and electrically driven unmanned aerial vehicle. It has a range of over 15 km return and can deliver packages weighing over 2.5 kg. It has built-in safety features such as low battery return to safe location and auto-return home in case of low GPS signal or communication loss.

This marks the beginning of a collaboration, which will see Fastway and Flirtey expand their use of drone delivery technology with trials across New Zealand.

“At Fastway Australia, while we don’t think drones will replace our courier fleet, we’re excited nonetheless about the prospect of drone technology and we look forward to seeing what the future holds,” adds Richard Thame.

Source: http://www.tandlnews.com.au/