Drone Delivery Service: UPS Successfully Tests First Residential Drone Delivery In Florida

Amazon apparently won't be the only company offering drone delivery service: The United Postal Service could follow suit.

UPS announced Tuesday it had successfully tested out a drone for residential delivery, a press release said. The company worked with Workhorse Group, a manufacturing company that created both the drone and the electric UPS car used to test the flight.

The test drone successfully flew to its designated location, dropped off the package and then proceeded on its delivery route. The drone tested could carry up to 10 pounds. Each drone would require a battery charge every 30 minutes (UPS cars would be able to charge designated drones so the drones would be able to continue on assigned routes), CNN Tech reported .

The test marked the delivery service company’s first drone delivery and could offset costs if package cars no longer have to trek to remote locations. Deliveries made in rural areas are considered the most expensive delivery routes. UPS has around 66,000 delivery drivers on the road every day, and a reduction in driver mileage alone could save in the millions, the release said.

“Imagine a triangular delivery route where the stops are miles apart by road,” Mark Wallace, UPS senior vice president of global engineering and sustainability, said in a statement. “Sending a drone from a package car to make just one of those deliveries can reduce costly miles driven. This is a big step toward bolstering efficiency in our network and reducing our emissions at the same time.”

Wallace assured that adding drone deliveries to the company’s service repertoire would not jeopardize driver jobs: “Drivers are the face of our company, and that won’t change,” he said.

Prior to UPS’ drone delivery announcement, the company announced it was considering raising its prices across the company to offset costs, namely, the costs that come from package deliveries to e-commerce consumers, Reuters reported Tuesday.

UPS has yet to announce further plans concerning drone delivery implementation.