UPS Drone Delivery Program in Testing Now

There are several major companies that send out lots of packages eyeing the use of drones for delivery. The first to mention the feat was Amazon a long time ago. Word has now surfaced that package delivery giant UPS is currently testing drone deliveries of its own. UPS is currently testing the drone delivery program in Tampa, Florida and the company thinks that delivering with drones could save it millions of dollars.

UPS is testing the HorseFly UAV Delivery Drone developed by a company called Workhorse. The drone stores in the top of the brown truck we all know and love. There is a trap door in the top of the truck accessible from the inside that allows the driver to cram a package inside the drone’s delivery cage.

The idea is to allow the driver to deliver some packages and then the drone can deliver its packages down the road saving the driver some time and possibly allowing for more deliveries during the day.

“It has implications for future deliveries, especially in rural locations where our package cars often have to travel miles to make a single delivery,” said Mark Wallace, UPS senior vice president of global engineering and sustainability. “Imagine a triangular delivery route where the stops are miles apart by road. Sending a drone from a package car to make just one of those deliveries can reduce costly miles driven. This is a big step toward bolstering efficiency in our network and reducing our emissions at the same time.”

UPS isn’t looking to replace drivers with drones, it just wants to allow more deliveries. There are other autonomous delivery systems out there that used little robotic vehicles, I wonder when UPS might combine autonomous wheeled delivery with these drones. The day of the human UPS driver might be limited.