The company says that the Ministry of Civil Aviation has approved trials for food delivery drones. Over the next few weeks, a flight team will conduct drone trials for Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations for food and medical package deliveries in Uttar Pradesh’s Etah and Punjab’s Rupnagar districts using ANRA’s SmartSkies technology.
Over the next few weeks, a flight team will conduct drone trials for Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations for food and medical package deliveries in Uttar Pradesh’s Etah and Punjab’s Rupnagar districts using ANRA’s SmartSkies technology, the integrated airspace management firm said.
ANRA Technologies Pvt. Ltd., a global leader in integrated airspace management and Swiggy, India’s on-demand delivery platform, recently announced that the India Ministry of Defense, Directorate General of Aviation and Ministry of Civil Aviation (MOCA) have granted final clearances to ANRA Technologies consortia for trials of Beyond Visual Line of Sight operations in India.
Although the project took months to plan, India’s drone industry will benefit from 100 hours of planned BVLOS flight time. Amit Ganjoo (ANRA CEO and founder) said that the goal was to collect data and make it scalable across India. “To perform these BVLOS operations took almost two years – regulators are really jumping through hoops in order to make it a reality.”
“Swiggy is excited about the potential that drones offer and look forward to trials on BVLOS operations for the use case of food delivery. Through Swiggy’s association with ANRA, Swiggy aims to put the long-range proficiencies of drone technology to best use and accomplish some ground-breaking trials,” said Shilpa Ganeshwar, Principal Program Manager at Swiggy.
“Swiggy is a pioneer in logistics and technology, with a dedicated delivery fleet, has established a strong presence in hyperlocal delivery. Swiggy goes beyond food delivery to provide convenience for consumers. We are constantly exploring new avenues to improve the service we offer to our customers. There are many technological innovations that make the last mile journey easier and faster. We are excited by the potential of drones and look forward for trials on BVLOS operations to enable food delivery. We aim to use the drone technology’s long-range capabilities and conduct ground-breaking trials through our association with ANRA,” said Shilpa.
Along with Swiggy, Indian Institute of Technology, Ropar, and drone service provider BetterDrones are part of one consortium that will focus on food delivery.
The first delivery was a box of chocolates, says Ganjoo – but the team is looking ahead to enabling medical drone delivery, a significant need especially during the current pandemic. “ANRA’s deep roots in India and my personal family ties make me especially proud to have contributed to this historic moment for India, government stakeholders, and our partners,” Ganjoo stated in a press release. “Knowing our technology may soon help deliver food and medical packages to underserved populations are what motivates and unifies our team.”
ANRA’s first flight was launched on June 16, 2021. The flight team will be conducting BVLOS food deliveries and medical package deliveries in Etah, Rupnagar, using ANRA SmartSkies technology. SmartSkies Delivery, ANRA’s software solution that connects customers and delivery services, will also be used.
Ganjoo says the first delivery was a small box of chocolates. But the team is now looking to enable medical drone delivery, which is a critical need, especially in the current pandemic. Ganjoo said in a press release that ANRA’s roots in India and my family ties make it special to have been part of this historic moment for India and its stakeholders. Our team is motivated and united by the knowledge that our technology could soon deliver food and medical packages for underserved communities.
Logistics startup Dunzo is leading another to pilot drone delivery of medicines in Telangana. “With an increasing number of technological innovations taking place to smoothen and fasten the last-mile journey, it only becomes natural for us to explore the latest avenues available to maximise the benefit to our consumers,” said Shilpa Gnaneshwar, principal program manager at Swiggy.
