DPDgroup given clearance for drone deliveries on 15km route
DPDgroup, the international express arm of Le Groupe La Poste, has become the first company in the world to establish a commercial drone route for delivering parcels. It comes after gaining authorisation from the General Directorate for Civil Aviation to deliver parcels from a pick-up point in Saint-Maximin-La-Sainte-Baume, to Pourrières in the south of France. The 15km route will be travelled once a week and serve a "cut-off incubator" of firms. DPDgroup, Europe's second-largest international parcel delivery network, said drones are the solution to last-mile deliveries in isolated or hard-to-reach locations.

The General Directorate for Civil Aviation (DGAC) has authorised DPDgroup, the international express subsidiary of Le Groupe La Poste, to operate a regular commercial line in the Var department of France.

Following two years of tests, crowned with success, DPDgroup, GeoPost’s international parcel delivery network and international express subsidiary of Le Groupe La Poste, received authorisation from the General Directorate for Civil Aviation to deliver parcels using drones on a regular 15km route.

https://youtu.be/CpSrTSPh9Hw

For the first time worldwide, a regular commercial route makes it possible to deliver parcels by drone.

Once a week, the DPDgroup drone travels between Saint-Maximin-La-Sainte-Beaume and Pourrières, in south of France (Provence region). The route makes it possible to delivery items to a cut-off incubator of companies including a dozen start-ups specialized in technology. Their parcels now delivered by Chronopost and DPD France will be sent by drone from the Pick-up point in Saint-Maximin.

This represent a new way of addressing the issue of last-mile deliveries, especially when it comes to areas that are difficult to access.

For both the departure and arrival of the drone, a delivery terminal is used to secure the parcel loading phases, from take-off to landing and placement of the parcel.

The terminal features:

a structure protecting access to the drone during landing and take-off phases,

an automated carriage system for transporting the parcel,

an electronics system devoted to the safety of handling operations around the drone

A long-standing project

It was back in June 2014 that DPDgroup, in partnership with Atechsys, an SME based in south of France, begin conducting tests to develop the drone. After numerous tests and over 600 hours of flight time, the DPDgroup drone demonstrated, in September 2015, its ability to fly in complete autonomy as it transported a parcel weighing 1.5kg over 14km.

These tests validate the approach chosen by DPDgroup aiming to use drones to access cut-off areas (mountains, islands, rural areas, etc.) or areas that are difficult to access.

The first commercial line represents a new step in the program being led by DPDgroup. After the testing phase, the experimentation phase on the regular route can now begin.

Technical features:

Range: up to 20km

Payload: up to 3kg

Max speed: 30km/h

Navigation system capable of transmitting up to 50km

6 electric rotors, carbon fibre chassis

Latest-generation embedded electronics

On-board GPS and camera with live data stream

Redundant electronics

About DPDgroup

DPDgroup is the second largest international parcel delivery network in Europe. DPDgroup combines innovative technologies and local expertise to provide simple, flexible services for both senders and recipients. Through its Predict service, DPDgroup has established new service standards by placing customers’ at the centre of the delivery process. With 60,000 experts and a network of over 26,000 pick-up points, DPDgroup delivers 3.6 million parcels in 230 countries every day, through its four brands: DPD, Chronopost, SEUR and Interlink Express.

DPDgroup is the parcel delivery network of GeoPost, which reported revenues of €5.7 billion this year. GeoPost is a holding company owned by Le Groupe La Poste.