Urban Air Delivery Demo

Correos exhibits the drones developed within the framework of the DELOREAN project

Correos leads the part of the project dedicated to the mobility of goods through the use of a multirotor drone and has contributed to setting the design standards that the drone loading bay must meet for the transport of shipments

The solution developed by Correos allows multiple deliveries to different users on one route, with the flexibility to accommodate different volumes and weights, both on the ground and from the air, with safety and precision

The DELOREAN project, which has eight partners and funding from the European Union, consists of in developing applications of the Galileo satellite navigation system (EGNSS) that promote ecological, safe and intelligent mobility

Correos has tested the drones developed within the framework of the DELOREAN project in Utrera (Seville).

The project encompasses urban air mobility in its entirety, contemplating both the mobility of people, led by Airbus, and the transport of goods, led by Correos.

Therefore, Correos leads the work related to urban air delivery within the consortium. The main components of the developed solution consist of the design of a cargo bay adaptable to any drone, an interface software with the operator and a Mission Control Center. All this developed in collaboration with FADA-CATEC and Pildo Labs, project coordinator.

Multiple deliveries, on the ground or from the air, to different users

In the project, Correos has defined the design standards for the cargo bay that any drone manufacturer that wants to work with the logistics company will have to comply with.

The cargo bay designed by Correos allows a system of multiple deliveries to different users on one route. It is a flexible solution, with different internal mobile rails that can be adapted to the different volumes and weights of the shipments depending on the needs.

Multirotor drones incorporating this cargo bay are capable of ground deliveries as well as airdrop shipments, and have a payload capacity of up to 5kg. They incorporate a security system that allows verification of delivery to the recipient and also autonomous operation, with precision and security mechanisms when delivering shipments.

The demonstration of the flight of the drones with deliveries of shipments on the ground and from the air has been carried out in the Seville town of Utrera, in an act that was attended by Correos executives and representatives of the partners of the DELOREAN project, as well as from other institutions.

Exhibition of the DELOREAN Project in Utrera (Seville)

Correos, at the forefront of drone research

The DELOREAN project represents another step in the exploration that Correos is carrying out of the possibilities offered by drones to improve parcel transport, in line with its commitment to evolve towards the use of clean technologies that reduce the environmental footprint of its activity.

From the beginning of the first tests with drones in the Asturian town of Sotres in 2015, through those carried out with hybrid airplane/multirotor technology drones in Lugo in 2018, and the participation in projects for the use of drones for efficiency control of buildings in Zaragoza and Malaga, Correos has been at the forefront of research on the applications of this technology for civil use in Spain.

The logistics company continues to work with the main Spanish and European players in the sector in the design of a safe and efficient operational solution for the use of drones in the transport of goods and, more specifically, in the delivery of small parcels, always with the objective to improve the distribution capacities of Correos and as a complementary tool available to postmen that makes it easier for them to carry out their delivery tasks in areas of difficult access without exposing their security.

Source: Correos