In a landmark move on Tuesday, UPS Flight Forward, a subsidiary of UPS, confirmed the first ever successful revenue-generating drone delivery when two customers received prescribed medicines directly at their homes.
The global logistics heavyweight, in partnership with CVS Pharmacy, commenced the launch of the drone flights from a CVS branch store in Cary, North Carolina on November 1, with both flights reaching their intended destinations.
The M2 drones, designed by Matternet, were flown autonomously, but were constantly being monitored by a remote operator who could intervene at any moment. During the delivery process, the drones will hover 6m over the property, before slowly lowering the packages to the ground with a cable and a winch.
Speaking on the historic occasion, Scott Price, UPS chief strategy and transformation officer, said the company was delighted to build new services that would shatter preconceived notions of how, when and where goods could be delivered.” – Bjorn Vorster
