DroneUp, UPS testing coronavirus medical supply delivery
DroneUp CEO Tom Walker says it can operate deliveries 'very efficiently'
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Drone solutions company DroneUp is getting together with UPS to test out delivering coronavirus medical supplies.
DroneUp CEO Tom Walker told FOX Business’ Neil Cavuto the partnership sprouted from motivation to fill coronavirus demand and by leveraging UPS’ expertise in shipping and DroneUp’s technology to fly.
“The partnership really was leveraging our talents and understanding how to operate these platforms safely and efficiently and then working with them to develop actual delivery strategies that make sense and not just for this current pandemic, but for future events and then ultimately down the road,” he said.
UPS SEES DEMAND FOR GLOBAL CORONAVIRUS MEDICAL SUPPLIES, RESIDENTIAL DELIVERIES SPIKE
A UPS driver wears a mask as he makes a delivery, Monday, April 6, 2020, in Renton, Wash. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Walker said the testing process has proven to be a success regarding scale, safety and efficiency while also implementing drone platforms that more than 10,000 DroneUp pilots are already familiar with.
“What we wanted to test… was the scalability of engaging the consumer or the professional drone market,” he said. “But then also being able to utilize readily available platforms that our pilots use every single day… Could we utilize those to do delivery? And what we proved is that we could do it and we could do it very efficiently."
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Since the pandemic erupted, Walker said the government and the public questioned why drones weren’t being used in relief efforts, which sparked his curiosity in launching the project.
“The purpose of this exercise… was to determine what we could do today safely and efficiently that may bring the benefit of drone delivery to the front lines,” he said. “But also learning what we need to do better… whether it's process, policy, training or otherwise.”