Trial run for last-mile delivery of medicines via drones concluded successfully

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Successful trial run for the last mile delivery of medicines with the help of drones concluded in the outskirts of Bengaluru, according to a Mint report.

Reportedly, under the supervision of the Director-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), two variants of drones were used and successfully tested within 15 km radius in the outskirts of the city by Throttle Aerospace Systems (TAS) and UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik).

With up to 2kg payload, Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drones, were tested with a range of 2-7 kilometers in the designated area.

“The efforts by the authorities to integrate drones in the supply-chain ecosystem is a major step towards creating a framework for efficient last-mile delivery. The success of today’s trial run opens a massive opportunity to revolutionize customer experience in the distribution and logistics space. It is aligned with our vision to build tech-enabled solutions to empower small businesses such as kiranas, shop owners, chemists, and MSMEs that are based in the remote corners of Bharat,” said Soumyadeep Mukherjee, Product Engineer of UDAN told news agency ANI.

The test included tethered lowering of shipment and landing of drones with the shipment. The successful trial will help in using drones to deliver life-saving drugs to the last-mile delivery in a short span of time. It will also help in times of natural disaster, pandemics, and calamities in the remotes part of the country when accessing by roads can be problematic.

The successful trial run is a step ahead towards ensuring last-mile delivery of life-saving drugs within a limited time frame. Once implemented, the technology can be leveraged during a natural disaster, pandemic, or other calamities in the remote areas of the country, that are difficult to access in the absence of proper roads and infrastructure.