Heavy parcels can also be delivered by drone. During a test flight in Turin, Italy, a load of 52 kilograms was safely delivered. The payload was not maxed out.
The empty weight of the FB3 drone is 70 kilograms. (Source: manufacturer)
- In Italy, two FlyingBasket drones delivered two packages, each weighing 26 kilograms.
- In theory, every FB3 quadrocopter could carry a package weighing 100 kilograms.
- Part of the flight was over a river to be on the safe side.
Multicopters do more than some people think they can. They deliver vaccines to remote areas, film the inside of volcanoes or clean solar cells. This year the record was set for the longest drone flight – a multicopter filmed sunrise and sunset without stopping.
Together with the defense technology company Leonardo and the Italian post office, the drone manufacturer led the way FlyingBasket carried out a successful test flight with his freight drone called FB3. Two of the multicopters carried a package weighing 26 kilograms each around four kilometers through the air, delivered it and then automatically returned to the starting point.
The theoretical payload of one hundred kilograms per drone was not exhausted. According to the manufacturer, the empty weight of an FB3 is 70 kilograms. Two different loading methods were used in the test. A multicopter carried its cargo in a kind of hold. The other carried the package in a lowerable unit on a rope.
The future of logistics lies with autonomous cargo transportation. This mission demonstrated the incredible potential of cargo drones in metropolitan areas. Today we transport 100kg with a single drone, in the future a fleet of autonomous drones will not only be able to keep up with rising logistics demand, but also increase flexibility and reduce delivery time.
Moritz Moroder, CEO FlyingBasket
To be on the safe side, most of the flight was across a river. Part of the route led through inhabited areas. However, there was no incident and the cargo could be safely unloaded. The test flight was previously authorized by the Italian aviation authority ENAC.
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