DPD France has received authorisation for a new drone delivery route to ship parcels to customers in a remote village.
The new line connects Footanil-Cornillon in the village of Mont-Saint-Martin in Isère, eastern France. The route allows delivery in five minutes.
To support the route, DPD uses a delivery vehicle equipped with a mobile terminal that allows a drone to take off and land. The terminal was designed in partnership with French company Atechsys.
The driver parks at a dedicated location during his tour of the area and activates the terminal, scans the package and clips the package to the drone. They then launch the drone, which moves fully autonomously during the delivery, with remote supervision.
DPD received authorisation from the French civil aviation authority in 2016 to establish a drone delivery line between St Maximin la Sainte Baume and Pourrières. This new line represents an expansion of this programme.