Wingcopter DroLEx: Pilot project for drone-cargo bike delivery launched
Wingcopter and the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences (Frankfurt UAS) launched the project "DroLEx – Drone Cargo Bike Express Delivery" on Wednesday.
Under the name "LieferMichel," the pilot project offers residents of remote districts in Michelstadt, Hesse, the opportunity to have groceries and daily necessities quickly and emission-free delivered to their homes via Wingcopter delivery drone and cargo bike.
The drone deliveries are intended to sustainably improve local supplies in the region. The project is funded by the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV) under the funding guideline "Innovative Air Mobility" with a total of around 430,000 euros. The project will initially run until the end of 2023 and will be continued if successful. Tom Plümmer, CEO of Wingcopter:
"We are very proud to test LieferMichel, Germany’s first drone delivery service for groceries and everyday goods. Our biggest goal is to gain experience and collaborate with residents to evaluate an environmentally friendly and efficient service that provides real added value for the population in rural areas. We are deeply grateful for the hospitality of the Odenwald residents and the openness with which they have welcomed the project and the LieferMichel team."
Liefermichel arrives by drone and cargo bike
At the beginning, according to the two actors, the two districts of Rehbach and Würzberg, located outside Michelstadt, will be served. Residents of these districts can order daily necessities such as long-life milk, eggs, fruits and vegetables, canned goods, and many other non-refrigerated products through the Liefermichel website and have them delivered to their homes at a desired time.
The orders are then flown by Wingcopter to fixed landing points on the outskirts of the villages, from where they are transported to the end customers by e-cargo bike. Initially, a wide range of products from the local REWE market is available. More local retailers are to be added to the platform as the project progresses.
The pilot project is scientifically accompanied by the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences, which evaluates the service from an economic and ecological perspective. Frankfurt UAS also takes care of the cargo bike rides.
In addition to the city of Michelstadt and REWE, project partners include Vodafone and Riese & Müller. The mobile phone company Vodafone provides the necessary mobile infrastructure to ensure that the Wingcopter drones have a secure and stable connection to the ground station throughout the flight. The cargo bikes used are produced and provided by Riese & Müller, also based in the Odenwald.
Developing a scalable business model
Based on the experiences in Michelstadt, a sustainable and infinitely scalable business model is to be developed to improve local supply in other rural regions of Germany through fast, ecologically sensible, and reliable delivery of daily necessities by drone, according to the participants.
Because even though many small shops have disappeared in rural areas in recent years, grocery delivery services that deliver orders within minutes have so far been limited to urban areas. There is seen enormous potential here. Prof. Dr. Kai-Oliver Schocke, President of Frankfurt UAS:
“We believe that a drone-based delivery service in rural areas can be a win-win situation: Residents benefit from better supply options, retailers can expand their customer catchment area without having to set up their own delivery offers. We also expect ecological advantages, as particularly trips for smaller errands can be substituted in this way.”
In the concerned districts of Michelstadt, many local retailers have closed their shops in recent years, so residents have to travel to Michelstadt or other towns to shop - sometimes more than ten kilometers per trip. Especially for smaller errands up to four kilograms, LieferMichel users can now leave the car at home. Another benefit: The flight with the purely electric delivery drones is also more environmentally friendly than traveling by car.
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