A few years down the line delivering products through drones might become common. We know that Amazon, one of the largest global online retailers, is testing out drone deliveries but the FCC’s new drone rules can put a spanner in the works. That doesn’t mean other entities around the world can’t go down a similar path. GeoPost, a package-delivery subsidiary of France’s postal service LaPoste, has completed tests of delivering lightweight packages using drones.
In GeoPost’s initial tests drones were used to deliver mail and lightweight packages. CEEMA, or Centre d’Études et d’Essai pour Modèles Autonomes, conducted these tests as its also involved in the drone-building process for GeoPost.
The drone that’s being built for GeoPost has six rotors and is capable of delivering mail or a lightweight package up to 4 kilograms. Range is said to be around 20 kilometers. The test results show that these drones are reliable enough to 2 kilogram packages in a range of up to 1.2 kilometers.
For now GeoPost hasn’t said if and when this service will be commercially launched. Changes will have to be made to French law as well which currently prohibits drone operation over densely populated areas. Its likely that these drones might otherwise be used for deliveries in remote areas, but we’ll have to wait and see how this plays out.
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