“Chega flying” will no longer be just a figure of speech when it comes to delivery.
Receiving orders from the sky is already a reality for consumers in various parts of the world. Now drone delivery is gaining ground in Brazil with iFood delivery.
Find out everything about the drone delivery service, how it will work here, and what the benefits are for companies and consumers.
What is drone delivery?
The service of drone delivery consists of the use of unmanned aircraft for commercial operations that involve the search and delivery of various items, including food.
Drones are automated to follow predefined routes for the collection and delivery of cargo and delivery services.
Drone delivery complements traditional delivery, carried out by the delivery person, as the drone will not arrive at the customer's door, but will carry out the first part of the delivery.
The drone delivery market is expected to be worth 18.65 billion dollars by 2028 worldwide, according to data from Emerg Research. In 2020, this market was valued at 553.6 million dollars.
Origin of drone delivery
In 2013, Amazon announced its plan to begin delivering light goods by drone.
In December of that year, German logistics company DHL delivered medicines using a prototype drone called parcelcopter.
The two-minute flight covered the stretch between a pharmacy and Bonn city center.
As early as 2014, companies like Google and FedEx announced testing drone deliveries.
The following year, Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba began making drone deliveries to cities in China.
In 2016, the company Flirtey made the first autonomous drone delivery flight approved by the United States Federal Aviation Administration.
And Amazon's first drone delivery took place in 2016 in the United Kingdom.
How does drone delivery work?
The customer places the order through the iFood app or website. The item is then packed in a transport box developed specifically for the drone that is attached to it.
The order is then taken by the drone from one droneport to another droneport (drone landing and takeoff area), where it is automatically undocked and left in the delivery area.
Once collected by an iFood delivery partner, the order is taken to the address indicated by the customer at the time of ordering, by motorbike or bicycle.
Will drone delivery replace couriers?
No. The drone only performs part of the delivery, generally the most complicated part to be covered by land, due to traffic and urban conditions.
The delivery person will be essential to complete the delivery process.
What are the benefits of drone delivery?
Receiving an order in two or three times less time than a traditional delivery is one of the benefits of drone delivery.
In a consumer survey, the delivery company Clutch found that faster deliveries were what respondents were most excited about about drone delivery.
Other benefits of drone delivery are:
- Reduction in traffic and traffic jams in urban centers;
- Reduction of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere;
- Reach places with little or no land access;
- Be environmentally sustainable.
5 questions about drone delivery
As it is a new delivery method, drone delivery can raise questions for both companies and the end consumer.
Below are five questions that may arise about drone delivery.
Could there be damage to orders?
There is more stability in the air than in motorcycle deliveries themselves.
Can drone delivery replace jobs?
At iFood, drone delivery is always complementary to other forms of delivery. There is no authorization, in Brazil, for deliveries directly by drones to people's homes. There will always be an order distribution point, where they will be collected by delivery people. The objective is to connect regions previously not served by iFood, generating new opportunities.
Could property damage occur?
All deliveries will be made to authorized droneports.
Can drone congestion happen?
Airspace control works the same way as for manned aircraft, just at different layers of airspace. All routes are automated and all pilots are informed of the operation (standard procedure).
Could drone delivery lead to less privacy?
The cameras on delivery drones are of low resolution, only for transmitting images in real time, and there is no filming. They are only used for navigation and support during landing procedures.
Special care when delivering by drone
Some special care is required when delivering by drone. Are they:
- Ensure that the order is suitable for delivery by drone, that is, that it complies with the maximum capacity allowed by ANAC, which is 2.5kg;
- Respect the dimensions of the transport box;
- Have strict equipment safety checklists;
- Take weather readings, measure winds and make quick decisions.
What are the types of drone deliveries?
The types of drone deliveries can range from Covid-19 testing to various packages.
See below the types of deliveries made by drones.
Medicine
In 2020, the company Zipline delivered Covid-19 tests to two major cities in Ghana. The service collected 51 test samples from patients in rural areas that were delivered to the company's distribution center and later taken to the local hospital.
Drone delivery of life-saving medicines is also a reality in Africa.
On the remote island of Tanzania, drones were used to deliver medicines to combat malaria, typhoid fever, parasitic diseases among others.
Foods
Food delivery – from coffee to pizza – by drone is already a reality in several countries such as the United States, Australia and Iceland. Ireland among others.
In Brazil, iFood is the pioneer in food delivery, being the first company in Latin America to receive authorization to use drones in deliveries.
Postal items
Amazon, Wing, UPS, FedEx, Fli Drone, Skycart, Workhorse, DHL are some of the largest companies that deliver online purchases, postal parcels, letters and other documents in countries in North America, Asia, Africa and Europe .
Drone delivery in Brazil
O iFood is the first Brazilian company authorized by the National Civil Aviation Agency (Anac) using drones to deliver food and products since January 2022.
A drone delivery in Brazil it began with the license given to the company Speedbird, in August 2020, to operate drones on an experimental basis for iFood.
That year, iFood carried out, in partnership with Shopping Iguatemi Campinas, the first drone delivery test, which covered around 400m, from one end of the mall to the other.
In two months of testing, iFood delivered more than 300 orders to consumers with the support of 20 partner restaurants.
Today, iFood makes intercity deliveries between Aracaju and Barra dos Coqueiros, in Sergipe, and has already accumulated more than 100 orders in the region, previously not served by iFood.
