According to Reuters, DHL, the world's largest courier company, announced that it will implement drone delivery in Germany, ahead of Amazon and Google.
This project will start today, and drones will travel between the island of Juist in northwestern Germany and the town of Norddeich, with a distance of about 12 kilometers. The experimental period of this project is about 4-6 weeks, and it will be further promoted to other places.
DHL hopes that drones can be used for some special occasions, such as remote areas. Using drones in these areas can reduce labor costs. In this project, Juist Island has a population of less than 2000 people, and DHL's plan is to operate twice a day, mainly transporting drugs and urgent goods, weather permitting.
DHL's parcel copter drones can currently carry 1.2 kilograms of cargo, with a flight time of up to 45 minutes and a maximum speed of 65 kilometers per hour. But the drone is not completely detached from human labor, it is still under the control of ground staff. After the drone lands, DHL's local courier will pick up the goods and deliver them.
In fact, both Amazon and Google had previously announced their intention to use drones for transportation services, but due to US aviation regulations, they were unable to do so. The successful launch of DHL's first drone delivery service in Europe this time was achieved through cooperation with the German aviation management department and the German Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure, which defined the restricted flight range of drones.
