Australia Post to trial parcel delivery via drones

Australia Post has announced plans to trial using drones to deliver small parcels to enable faster transportation of time-critical items such as medications.

The organisation will conduct a closed-field trial of remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) technology in collaboration with Australian automation and robotics start-up ARI Labs. This is expected be followed by a consumer trial later in the year.

Australia Post managing director and group CEO Ahmed Fahour said the trial will be used to get an understanding of the kinds of items RPAs can carry, how far they can travel and how customers could receive such a delivery.

“RPA technology will continue to evolve over the coming years and, while we’re not sure what role it will play in our future, we do think there are opportunities for time-critical deliveries or where there are significant distances between the road and front door,” he said.

Fahour said drones are one of a number of technologies Australia Post is exploring to help better support Australia’s burgeoning e-commerce and online shopping sector, which has experienced double-digit growth over the past five years.

Australia Post also recently announced a $20 million innovation fund to directly invest in innovative e-commerce businesses.

“At the heart of our approach to innovation is our passion to help Australian businesses take advantage of the e-commerce boom, while delivering choice and convenience for consumers,” Fahour said.

US e-commerce giant Amazon is developing its own system to deliver orders via drones, Prime Air, that promises delivery times of 30 minutes or less for packages weighing up to 2.27 kg.

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