TECH & SCI
'Drone carrier truck' tested to deliver packages
2017-02-22 13:48:00 GMT+8
Editor
Gong Zhe
Behold, your next delivery person might just be a drone.
As delivery companies are increasingly trying and testing drone delivery, United Parcel Service (UPS) has taken a step further, creating a "drone carrier truck" that may one day stop the company's price hike.
UPS said on Tuesday that it's considering raising prices across the board in the coming years to ease the rising costs on e-commerce delivery.
"We... always have to be diligent about getting the right return," particularly as costs rise, Richard Peretz, the company's chief financial officer, said at an investor event.
His comments came a day after the company tested home delivery by drone in Lithia, Florida, the first step in what it hopes will be more automated - and cheaper - deliveries in rural areas.
Handout photo from UPS showing the test procedure on February 20. 2017. /Photo via UPS
This inland "aircraft carrier" launched the company's own drone for the test, which can carry a 4.5-kilogram package and fly for 30 minutes.
In Monday's test, a drone launched from the roof of a UPS vehicle flew autonomously toward its destination, dropped a package and then returned to the vehicle as the driver continued on a delivery route.
Hand-out photo from UPS showing the test procedure on February 20. 2017. /Photo via UPS
"We see this as an exploration into this new technology," John Dodero, vice president of industrial engineering at UPS, said ahead of the test.
UPS currently has no timeline for when drones might be put into wider use.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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