Odenwald district - Shopping by drone: around 1700 kilometers flown in pilot project
Food, toilet paper and other items are delivered by drone and cargo bike. According to those involved in the project, around 1700 kilometers have already been flown during a test in Michelstadt in the Odenwald region, which has been running since the beginning of October. "We have delivered over 100 orders by drone since the start of the pilot project in October," a spokesperson for drone manufacturer and operator Wingcopter told Deutsche Presse-Agentur. On average, there are more than two orders a day, and a number of customers have already placed multiple orders.
In an area where some small villages do not even have a store for basic necessities, the service is intended to improve local supply. The project, which has received 430,000 euros in funding from the Federal Ministry of Transport, aims to combine the transportation of goods by electric cargo bike with drone transportation. Participants include the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences, Wingcopter and the telecommunications group Vodafone. The "Drone cargo bike express delivery" project, or "DrolEx" for short, aims to bring goods to the end consumer quickly and emission-free in future.
According to Wingcopter, two districts of Michelstadt are currently being served, with significantly more orders coming from the more distant district and therefore the much greater distance to the nearest shopping facility. "We would like to expand the service to other districts in the coming year," said the spokesperson. After starting with one supermarket as a shopping option, two more retailers have now been added. "It looks good that we will be able to continue beyond the end of the year and gather further insights."
In the project, goods ordered online are transported to the outskirts of the city on a cargo bike. From there, the drones then fly them to the outskirts of a district, from where they are transported to the end consumer on another cargo bike. For legal reasons, the drones cannot fly right up to a doorstep. They can carry a maximum load of 4.5 kilograms.
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- The test flight kilometers for the drone delivery service in the Odenwald district have surpassed 1700, as reported by the German Press Agency.
- The pilot project in Michelstadt, Hesse, involves the use of drones and cargo bikes for transportation of goods, including food and toilet paper.
- Funding for this initiative, known as 'DrolEx,' comes from the Federal Ministry of Transport, with Wingcopter, Vodafone, and the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences among its participants.
- With two districts in Michelstadt currently benefiting from this service, the distance to the nearest shopping facility is a significant factor in order volume, according to Wingcopter.
- The spokesperson for Wingcopter mentioned that they aim to expand this drone cargo bike express delivery service to other districts within the upcoming year.
- The project involves transportation of online ordered goods to the city outskirts using a cargo bike, followed by drone delivery to the outskirts of a district, and final delivery on another cargo bike.
- The drones are limited to carrying a maximum load of 4.5 kilograms due to legal restrictions, ensuring they can't fly right up to a doorstep.
Source: www.stern.de
