UPS AND THE USE OF DRONES, HOW THE WORLD OF DELIVERIES CHANGES
Bala Ganesh, UPS Vice President of the Advanced Technology Group, tells us how UPS prepares for deliveries with remotely piloted aircraft
UPS opens up to the world of deliveries with drones and to do so has given rise to UPS Flight Forward.
The American company had applied to Federal Aviation Administration – FAA for Part 135 certification from, and on October 1st obtained the necessary authorisation to finally operate routine commercial flights with drones within the UPS® network.
Spazio-News Magazine, to better understand how the delivery market is approaching drones, interviewed Bala Ganesh, UPS Vice President of the Advanced Technology Group.
Can we really say that the era of the “traditional postman” is over in UPS?
Drones don’t replace our uniformed service providers, who offer a level of service and human interaction that our customers tell us they value, respect and trust – a human touch is a key differentiator in many situations. We see technology as enhancing what our people can do, allowing them to keep pace with the ‘more, faster, better’ demands of our growing customer base. Demand for global shipping services is growing fast, and we have to innovate to stay competitive. New technologies, new ideas and new services empower growth and spur job creation.
How can technology support the shipping market and why does UPS look at the world of drones?
UPS believes autonomous technologies, including drones, can solve a critical need in humanitarian logistics and crisis response to overcome the difficulties of safely reaching people in need with medicine and life-saving supplies: for example, we are part of a project to deliver blood by drone to remote locations in Rwanda and Ghana; we have also tested the use of drones to deliver medical supplies to hard-to-reach places; and we conducted a test in the Boston area, successfully delivering medical supplies to an island in a faster and more efficient manner than otherwise possible.
We strongly believe that the use of drones will create efficiencies in our network. We’re committed to using technology to transform the way we do business. UPS’s formation of a drone delivery company and our application to begin regular operations under this level of certification is historic for UPS and for the drone and logistics industries, overall.
Have you already chosen which company and/or drone will support you in this revolution?
We announced in July this year that we’ve established our own drone subsidiary, UPS Flight Forward, to develop and operate unmanned aerial systems for revenue-generating deliveries. At the same time, UPS partnered with drone-maker Matternet to launch our healthcare delivery service on the WakeMed campus in North Carolina (USA).
When can we realistically receive deliveries from the sky and what will change for the customer?
We see the use of any new technology as a way to better serve our customers. We are taking the deployment and use of drones one step at a time, identifying specific opportunities and customers that can benefit today from a customized drone delivery service. A good example of this is when we established our groundbreaking logistics program to deliver medical samples via the Matternet unmanned drone platform.
In conclusion, what other technologies are you experimenting within UPS and what should we expect for the future?
Artificial intelligence, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, robotics, automation, alternative fuels, route optimization algorithms. You name it. We’re exploring it. We are pioneers in advanced analytics. We use our vast data streams to generate new solutions to serve our customers and bolster our global smart logistics network.
F. C.