RetailIO recently conducted drone deliveries in Karnataka’s Gauribidanur in collaboration with Redwing Labs, a company statement said.
It said that the pilot was focussed on delivering critical life-saving medicines to hospitals in under 10 minutes maintaining the cold chain and all the norms. The team conducted four trips with different product mixes. The pilot took place between Gauribidanur and Hossur Primary Healthcare center (PHC) in Chickkaballapur district using a Hybrid VTOL drone with a payload capacity of upto 2 kgs. With an average speed of 90 kmph, the drone covered an ariel distance of approximately 10 kms under eight minutes.
The statement also quoted Harsh Parekh, co-founder, API Holdings, as saying that the VTOL drone was used in the demonstration and is 100 per cent electric. Drone-based delivery networks could result in over 90 per cent reduction in carbon emissions compared to using vans and cars.