Mail sent to Pulau Ubin by drone in world-first SingPost trial

The 2-kilometer test flight from Lorong Halus to the island off Singapore's north-eastern coast took 5 minutes, and carried a payload of a letter as well as T-shirt in a packet, SingPost said.

Channel NewsAsia 8 Oct 15;


SINGAPORE: Mail delivered in flight, with not a postman in sight? The first step toward making this a daily reality was taken after Singapore Post successfully trialled a mail run from mainland Singapore to Pulau Ubin - the first time in the world a postal service has successfully used an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle for point-to-point recipient-authenticated mail delivery.

The last-mile mail and packet drone delivery from Lorong Halus to Pulau Ubin trial was successfully completed as part of a joint development between SingPost and the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), the postal service provider announced on Oct 8 (Thursday).

The 2-kilometer test flight took 5 minutes, and carried a payload of a letter as well as T-shirt in a packet, SingPost said.

The drone was built upon the Pixhawk Steadidrone platform by IDA Labs, and is tailored for use in a challenging environment like Singapore, SingPost said in a press release. The drone is equipped with enhanced safety features, and comes with a prototype app designed with security and verification features to ensure mail reaches its intended recipient.

It has the capacity to carry a payload of up to half a kilogramme, fly at a height of up to 45 metres and travel for 2.3km. The focus of the flight was to test the drone technology and safety boundaries.

"SingPost’s exploration of the drone technology is a move to provide enhanced end-to-end solutions to facilitate urban logistics as well as tap on the burgeoning eCommerce growth in Asia Pacific," the postal operator added.

"LITERALLY AIMING FOR THE SKY"

Added IDA Managing Director Jacqueline Poh: “The successful conclusion of this trial shows how SingPost is thinking out of the box and its willingness to expand its traditional mail delivery model in innovative ways.

"Although it will be a while before it is viable for drone mail delivery to take off in Singapore, taking into consideration commercial and safety factors; this first step by SingPost and IDA demonstrates what Singapore is trying out with our Smart Nation vision – to have the various parts of our ecosystem collaborate, experiment with new ways of doing things, and in the process, literally aim for the sky with new technology."

Said Dr Bernard Leong, Head of Digital Services at SingPost: “There is immense potential in UAV technology for last-mile mail and ecommerce delivery. As SingPost transforms into an eCommerce logistics enabler, we will continue to collaborate with industry leaders and chart new frontiers.

"Not only do we want to enable or accelerate eCommerce, we hope to contribute towards building Singapore into a Smart Nation, where technology improves the quality of lives. We seek continuous exploration to break new ground, innovate and harness technology to bring end-to-end solutions that matter to our customers.”

The multi-agency Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Committee facilitated this trial. Said its Chairman, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Transport Pang Kin Keong: “The UAS Committee has been encouraging and discussing with public and private sector organisations on innovative uses of UAS, and facilitating such trials. The technology opens up numerous exciting possibilities which could help us enhance operational productivity, efficiency and effectiveness.”

SingPost said the trial drone flight was conducted with permissions and cooperation from IDA, the Ministry of Transport, Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, Republic of Singapore Air Force as well as the Singapore Police Force.

- CNA/es

Mail sent to Pulau Ubin by drone in world-first SingPost trial
Today Online 8 Oct 15;

SINGAPORE — Drones as postmen? For the first time globally, a drone has been used successfully to deliver mail.

The trial by SingPost and the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) saw a letter and a t-shirt in a package delivered from Lorong Halus to Pulau Ubin by a drone. The 2km trip took about 5 minutes.

This makes as the first time a postal service has used an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle for point-to-point recipient-authenticated mail delivery, SingPost said in a news release today (Oct 8).

The drone used was built upon the IDA Labs’s Pixhawk Steadidrone platform to meet the new conceptual delivery platform from SingPost. On top of some safety features, it comes with a prototype app designed with security and verification features that ensures the mail reaches its intended recipient.

While the focus of the successful flight was to test the drone technology and safety boundaries, the drone was built with the capacity to carry a payload of up to half a kilogramme, fly at a height of up to 45 metres and travel a distance of 2.3 kilometres

“SingPost’s exploration of the drone technology is a move to provide enhanced end-to-end solutions to facilitate urban logistics as well as tap on the burgeoning eCommerce growth in Asia Pacific,” said the postal operator, adding that the region’s electronic commerce is expected to reach US$175 billion (S$247 billion) by 2016..

“The successful conclusion of this trial shows how SingPost is thinking out of the box and its willingness to expand its traditional mail delivery model in innovative ways,” said Jacqueline Poh, Managing Director at IDA.

“Although it will be a while before it is viable for drone mail delivery to take off in Singapore, taking into consideration commercial and safety factors, this first step by SingPost and IDA demonstrates what Singapore is trying out with our Smart Nation vision.”

Said Group Chief Executive Officer of SingPost, Dr Wolfgang Baier: “We are seeing success in our digital transformation which did not happen overnight. Our success is made possible through collaborations with industry experts and our business partners. Now, we want to make innovation more accessible and bring more tangible benefits to our customers and consumers.”

The multi-agency Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Committee, which had facilitated the trial, has been discussing with public and private sector organisations on innovative uses of UAS.

“The technology opens up numerous exciting possibilities which could help us enhance operational productivity, efficiency and effectiveness. All this, of course, needs to be carried in a safe manner, both for the public as well as aviation,” said Mr Pang Kin Keong, the committee’s chairman and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Transport.



Got mail to deliver? These are the drones you’re looking for
TOH EE MING Today Online 8 Oct 15;

SINGAPORE — Drones serving as postmen could become a reality here, if a successful trial by SingPost and the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) is any indication.

The trial on Sept 25 saw a letter and a T-shirt in a packet delivered from Lorong Halus to Pulau Ubin by an unmanned aerial vehicle. The 2km trip took about five minutes.

SingPost said today (Oct 8) the drone test marked the first time a postal service in the world had successfully used an unmanned aerial vehicle for “point-to-point recipient-authenticated mail delivery”.

While postal services in Switzerland and France have carried out similar trials, they do not have a secure authentication function as yet, said a SingPost spokesman.

To ensure that the package reaches the intended recipient, the drone is equipped with enhanced safety features, and is complemented with a prototype mobile app designed with security and verification features.

For instance, the mail route is programmed and a recipient is assigned in the system. Upon reaching the delivery point, the recipient will have to verify his identity through the mobile app. If the authentication fails or is not sent from the phone to the drone within three minutes, the drone will fly back to its original location.

Built using the Pixhawk Steadidrone platform by IDA Labs, the drone is equipped with a parachute to ensure a soft landing and a GPS system for tracking purposes.

A manual override is also possible if the drone veers off course.

IDA’s managing director Jacqueline Poh said: “The successful conclusion of this trial shows how SingPost is thinking out of the box and its willingness to expand its traditional mail delivery model in innovative ways.”

One benefit of drone delivery is that it can save time in delivering mail.

For instance, a 73-year-old postman serving the Pulau Ubin area currently delivers about 40 letters a day.

To get to the island, he has to wait for the bumboat to fill up with enough passengers before it can depart from Changi Ferry Terminal. On slow days, when there are fewer people going to the island, the wait can take up to half an hour.

The drone can carry a load of up to 0.5kg, fly at a height of up to 45m and travel over a distance of 2.3km.

Dr Bernard Leong, SingPost’s head of digital services, said drone technology offers “immense potential” in meeting the booming growth of e-commerce delivery.

The e-commerce market in the Asia-Pacific is expected to reach US$175 billion (S$247 billion) by next year. For now, SingPost says that it has no concrete plans for the commercialisation of drone deliveries.

When asked if such drone deliveries would replace the postman’s role, a SingPost spokesperson said: “Our postmen will continue to be instrumental in terms of last-mile delivery, while robotics do the heavy-lifting ... As our business transforms, the role of our postmen will also evolve over time.”

The SingPost drone test was conducted with the cooperation of various government agencies, such as the Ministry of Transport, Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, and Republic of Singapore Air Force.


It's a bird… it's a plane… it's the postman
Irene Tham, Straits Times AsiaOne 9 Oct 15;

Your postman could one day be a drone. Last month, Singapore Post completed an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) delivery trial, touted as the world's first successful test by a postal service provider.

The trial, which took place on Sept 25, involved an off-the-shelf drone system customised by engineers from SingPost and the government-backed Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) Labs.

It flew 2km, between Lorong Halus and Pulau Ubin, carrying a letter and T-shirt in a packet.

The drone prototype has safety features designed for dense urban areas. It can carry up to 500g, and fly at a height of up to 45m.

Its delivery route can be controlled by an in-house smartphone app, complete with verification features, to ensure that the mail reaches its intended recipient.

"There is immense potential in UAV technology for last-mile mail and e-commerce delivery," said Dr Bernard Leong, head of digital services at SingPost. For instance, delivery times can be shortened as the flight paths can be more direct than road delivery routes, he said.

Since US e-commerce giant Amazon's announcement last year of a potential drone-based delivery service, consumers have been excited about this possibility. But obstacles remain. SingPost, for instance, could not project when drone delivery would become the norm. Common challenges include safety concerns, weight limits, distance limits and weather restrictions.

"Although it will be a while before it is viable for drone mail delivery to take off in Singapore... this first step by SingPost and IDA demonstrates what Singapore is trying out with our smart nation vision," said IDA managing director Jacqueline Poh.

She said the vision is to have various parts of Singapore's ecosystem collaborating and experimenting with new ways of doing things.

SingPost received the green light from the Ministry of Transport, Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, the Republic of Singapore Air Force and the Singapore Police Force for its first drone trial.

Last month, the Finnish postal service also trialled the use of drones to deliver packages although its test drone landed away from the designated landing zone.

Republic Polytechnic lecturer Sasidharan Nair, who teaches a course on drone videography, said a drone would be handy for reaching offshore islands such as Sentosa or Pulau Ubin.

"Other instances where drones can come in handy include medical emergencies, search and rescue missions and disaster management," he said.