in the Vercors, La Poste is gaining ground with drone delivery

2024-04-12 06:30:00

“Last mile delivery is a link that we continually seek to improve, confides Jean-Luc Defrance, director of the information systems and digital shared services center at La Poste. We are considering new services to satisfy our end customers: relay points, development of automatic lockers, etc.».

And for 10 years, one of these areas of reflection has focused on “delivery by air”, that is to say, by drone. A mode of transport that responds to specific situations and especially geographies, supports Jean-Luc Defrance since it mainly targets “ sensitive areas where journeys, made on roads that are sometimes dangerous in winter, are long, ultimately delivering few packages ».

From the valley to the mountain villages

The first experiment, carried out from 2016 with a drone from the company Atechsys, was carried out in the Var, a terrain which does not represent any particular complexity and allows La Poste to obtain “ the first authorization from the DGAC (general directorate of civil aviation) to carry out this type of flight and especially to cross a highway », Points out Jean-Luc Defrance.

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Following initial encouraging results, the logistician is targeting steeper areas with the operational test of a second line in the Chartreuse massif (Isère), from 2019. And since January 2024, it is a little further south of the Grenoble metropolis, in the Vercors massif (Isère), that the Post Office is operating a new delivery line.

« The objective of these tests is really to gain experience in managing the interface with drivers, assistants, etc. » , insists Jean-Luc Defrance. This is exactly what the first two lines enabled, which combined 2,400 flights for 40,000 kilometers traveled, the equivalent of a trip around the world.

Based on the results obtained, the two entities, La Poste and Atechsys, were able to increase the transport capacity of the drone, to reach 10 kilos, over a distance of 10 kilometers, but also make the solution easy to use for drivers. .

A “seamless” service

The objective is in fact to integrate this service into the driver’s classic tour.
« Our driver will have 200 packages to deliver, but only around twenty by drone. He will organize a mixed tour, with a moment of stop at the drone’s departure terminal to power it and send the packages », Develops Jean-Luc Defrance.

“The delivery man’s assistant “, a new device patented by the La Poste group and Atechsys, is integrated into the delivery vehicle. This system allows the deployment of the drone for takeoff and landing in complete safety.

The driver places the package in the terminal which is loaded by an internal robot in the drone. The latter then carries out its flight autonomously and automatically thanks to the integrated GPS it has and lands in a fixed terminal. This allows both to secure delivery, but also to avoid possible manipulation of the drone.

Each flight lasts a few minutes and can be easily recharged, since it has an electric motor. The only constraint is that it must remain on the ground during thunderstorms, strong winds or snowstorms and below a temperature of -5°C. This last measurement influences, in fact, the charging time of the battery.

Packages are received in a compartment protecting them from bad weather. These are then collected by the manager of the Corrençon-en-Vercors post office, the café The Four of Acesin order to be made available to each recipient.

The driver therefore does not get involved in the theft, “ the Post Office is not a drone operator”, recalls Jean-Luc Defrance. More ” lThe legislation requires us to put in place double or triple security with a pilot [de la société Atechsys, ndlr] which has visual feedback of the flight and can regain control in the event of difficulty.»

An expansion of the scope

The experiment which recently began in the Vercors could extend to other villages.

“Ultimately, the ambition is to distribute four other municipalities on the Vercors plateau and deliver in less than an hour, instead of two hours by road transport, i.e. more than 65 kilometers of mountain roads avoided,” details the Post Office on its site.

Two operators, subsidiaries of GeoPost, will be able to use this service, DPD France and Chronopost, at their convenience. Customers will therefore not be able to choose this type of delivery themselves at this time.

The cost, not communicated today, should not be excessive, assures the Geopost general director of IS.

A drone with enhanced characteristics

Following the first two experiments carried out in the Var and the Massif Central, the latest model, currently used in the Vercors, has seen its operational capacities boosted.

Its range of action covers up to 20 kilometers (i.e. around 40 minutes of flight), for a payload that can carry up to eight packages (i.e. 10 kg, compared to 2 kg for previous models). The weight of the empty aircraft is estimated at 15 kg, for a cruising speed of 40 km/h.