Is it a bird? A plane? No, it’s your coffee

CHRIS GRIFFITH
NOVEMBER 15, 2018
The Australian
Australia’s first commercial drone home-delivery service begins in the ACT next year, but how strong is the business case? After conducting an initial technical trial, Alphabet spin-off Wing is set to hold a full commercial trial.
Travelling at up to 125km/h, Wing-built drones with steaming cups of coffee and small items and will fly off to homes within 5km of Mitchell, in Canberra’s north. Deliveries will be lowered by a line to near the ground.
The operation will roll out in phases with the first flight deliveries to nearby suburbs: Crace Palmerston, Franklin, and Harrison. Wing will work with businesses at Gungahlin, nearby Mitchell.
Chief executive James Ryan Burgess says Wing will use powerful 12-rotor drones. Each drone weighs about 4.5kg, and each can carry a 1.5kg package. Having 12 rotors is a safety measure: “It’s for high levels of redundancy so that we can tolerate multiple failures and still fly safely.’’
The drones can fly automatically to their destinations with an on-the-ground operator supervising multiple flights.
“We have high levels of automation and so the aircraft themselves are doing a lot of the determining of what is safe, and making sure that they are monitoring themselves to be healthy,” Burgess says.
“If there are any anomalies or any problems, the aircraft actually take action themselves before even a human could react and are able to execute safe contingency actions.”
But a pilot could take control. “That’s one of the reasons why we’re able to perform such quick service and get people (their) packages within just a few minutes … The system can take off right away when the customer places an order.”
Wing has an agreement with Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority for the rollout, but the body will need a longer-term plan to handle drone-delivery airspace nationally.
For example, it could decree these drones fly at, say, 80-100 metres above the ground? For the time being, the trial is sticking to arrangements between Wing and CASA.
“We have been working with CASA since 2014, actually, and our current approvals that we have earned with CASA for our current trial will be extended to the Mitchell area,” Burgess says.
He says the commercial trial will help CASA frame appropriate regulations.
Australia should be proud of being “the most advanced (country) in the world in terms of drone delivery”, Burgess says, adding that he expects up to 30 businesses to take part.
In the initial trial at Bonython, in Canberra’s south, residents complained about noise and loss of privacy, issues Wing plans to address in Mitchell. Modifications including redesigned propellers that he says will make drones quieter and lower-pitched. Drones are quieter than a range of suburban noises, but they make a unique sound that people are unfamiliar with.
Will the service make money? Burgess says research found businesses could serve up to four times as many customers using delivery drones, which can work twice the radius of vans and other existing delivery methods.
Wing says delivery costs for some items, such as takeaway food, could fall by up to 90 per cent, making deliveries more profitable for businesses.
Food arrives hotter and fresher, he says.
Local businesses seem to be aboard. Paul Davis, the owner of coffee merchant Kickstart Xpresso, which took part in the earlier trial, says drones have extended the reach of his drive-through quality coffee and food business.
During the earlier trial, the average delivery time was 6.7 minutes, which is unattainable with land delivery.
“It’s got a commercial application. People should be excited about this,” he says.
The local business association is aboard too. Julian Kusa, the secretary of the Mitchell Traders’ Association, says drones have great potential. “The interest and support from the Mitchell Traders’ Association has been very positive.”
A toy store, a smallgoods shop, a supermarket and a battery kiosk have also expressed interest in going commercial.
Wing plans to offer air-traffic management systems to other drone operators. It is also interested in emergency services support.
“A lot of us on our team have side hobbies either as pilots of manned aircraft, or hobbyists recreationally flying drones, and so we say that we want to help the whole ecosystem thrive and be successful,” Burgess says.
Wing plans extensive consultation with locals and businesses before the new rollout.
The organisation is also talking to potential merchant partners, large and small.