SingPost delivers mail to Pulau Ubin with a drone’s maiden flight from the mainland

[Adrianli]

SingPost delivers mail to Pulau Ubin with a drone’s maiden flight from the mainland

SingPost has successfully delivered mail from the mainland to Pulau Ubin with an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, or drone. According to SingPost, the drone was developed by InfoComm Authority of Singapore (IDA) and its maiden postal delivery was made possible with the collaborative efforts of several ministries and statutory boards, which included the Ministry of Transport, Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, the Republic of Singapore Air Force as well as the Singapore Police Force.

The drone carried a payload of a letter and T-shirt over a distance of two kilometers to Pulau Ubin. Its design is based on the Pixhawk Steadidrone platform and the final working model was built by IDA Labs to meet the delivery platform requirements of SingPost. With the successful conclusion of the trial, SingPost claims that its feat is a world’s first, in terms of using “an UAV for point-to-point recipient-authenticated mail delivery.” SingPost’s drone is equipped with “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.”

Although the drone is designed to take payloads of up to half a kilogram in weight, the main intention of its maiden trial was to test its technology and flight safety. The drone is rated to fly up to a height of 45m, and can travel up to a distance of 2.3km. SingPost’s exploratory efforts with UAV delivery is part of its strategy to strengthen its foothold in Southeast Asia as the market leader in providing end-to-end solutions for urban logistics.

http://www.hardwarezone.com.sg/tech-news-singpost-delivers-mail-pulau-ubin-drone-s-maiden-flight-mainland

[remauled]

guess what - drone was flying in a no-flyzone at Lor Halus - ATC zone of Paya Lebar... surely there's ATC involvement?

[Adrianli]

Mail sent to Pulau Ubin by drone in world-first SingPost trial

The 2-kilometer test flight from Lorong Halus to the island off Singapore's north-eastern coast took 5 minutes, and carried a payload of a letter as well as T-shirt in a packet, SingPost said.


SINGAPORE: Mail delivered in flight, with not a postman in sight? The first step toward making this a daily reality was taken after Singapore Post successfully trialled a mail run from mainland Singapore to Pulau Ubin - the first time in the world a postal service has successfully used an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle for point-to-point recipient-authenticated mail delivery.

The last-mile mail and packet drone delivery from Lorong Halus to Pulau Ubin trial was successfully completed as part of a joint development between SingPost and the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), the postal service provider announced on Oct 8 (Thursday).


The 2-kilometer test flight took 5 minutes, and carried a payload of a letter as well as T-shirt in a packet, SingPost said.

The drone was built upon the Pixhawk Steadidrone platform by IDA Labs, and is tailored for use in a challenging environment like Singapore, SingPost said in a press release. The drone is equipped with enhanced safety features, and comes with a prototype app designed with security and verification features to ensure mail reaches its intended recipient.


It has the capacity to carry a payload of up to half a kilogramme, fly at a height of up to 45 metres and travel for 2.3km. The focus of the flight was to test the drone technology and safety boundaries.

"SingPost’s exploration of the drone technology is a move to provide enhanced end-to-end solutions to facilitate urban logistics as well as tap on the burgeoning eCommerce growth in Asia Pacific," the postal operator added.

"LITERALLY AIMING FOR THE SKY"

Added IDA Managing Director Jacqueline Poh: “The successful conclusion of this trial shows how SingPost is thinking out of the box and its willingness to expand its traditional mail delivery model in innovative ways.

"Although it will be a while before it is viable for drone mail delivery to take off in Singapore, taking into consideration commercial and safety factors; this first step by SingPost and IDA demonstrates what Singapore is trying out with our Smart Nation vision – to have the various parts of our ecosystem collaborate, experiment with new ways of doing things, and in the process, literally aim for the sky with new technology."

Said Dr Bernard Leong, Head of Digital Services at SingPost: “There is immense potential in UAV technology for last-mile mail and ecommerce delivery. As SingPost transforms into an eCommerce logistics enabler, we will continue to collaborate with industry leaders and chart new frontiers.

"Not only do we want to enable or accelerate eCommerce, we hope to contribute towards building Singapore into a Smart Nation, where technology improves the quality of lives. We seek continuous exploration to break new ground, innovate and harness technology to bring end-to-end solutions that matter to our customers.”

The multi-agency Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Committee facilitated this trial. Said its Chairman, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Transport Pang Kin Keong: “The UAS Committee has been encouraging and discussing with public and private sector organisations on innovative uses of UAS, and facilitating such trials. The technology opens up numerous exciting possibilities which could help us enhance operational productivity, efficiency and effectiveness.”

SingPost said the trial drone flight was conducted with permissions and cooperation from IDA, the Ministry of Transport, Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, Republic of Singapore Air Force as well as the Singapore Police Force.

- CNA/es

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/mail-sent-to-pulau-ubin/2177406.html

[evilmerlin]

Cool stuff man! Best part? What they do isn't something special, the equipment they used is freely available to everybody. Awesome.

[flyhob]

Cool stuff man! Best part? What they do isn't something special, the equipment they used is freely available to everybody. Awesome.

I agreed, any tom hairy can build that drone to carry the same payload, need so many big companies to cooperate?

[raidor88]

If you noticed the number of bodies whose approval was needed for this one flight, you will know that using drone for delivery is still far off.

[evilmerlin]

They do need that many is due to the flying area. Near PLAB? Airforce involved. Near Changi? CAAS involved. I am not sure why LTA and MPA is involved though. They took off from a damn park, need LTA for what? MPA for? To warn boats away from the flight path? Police? Provide security ah?

I suspect they got so many agencies involved to make sure they cover everything. Don't want some stupid agency to decide how come they are not involved in such a "momentous" occasion and make noise. And this is so new (to them anyway) that they are probably not even sure which agency has jurisdiction over something like this so just get everybody.

I bet the people in this forum have already made and flown multirotors with longer range and payload capacity than that.