Finland is experimenting with delivering newspapers with drones | News
According to the company behind the initiative, the pilot project is the first of its kind in the world.
Located southeast of the city of Tampere in Pirkanmaa, Saarikylä includes seven villages located on different islands – and they are a paper distributor’s worst nightmare.
This has prompted a local logistics company to come up with a new solution – to be launched next year – in which newspapers are delivered to customers using remote-controlled drones.
Markus Hohenthal is the CEO of Lentola Logistics, which is behind the pilot project, and told Yle that the three-month trial will start in March.
“We are trying a new way to deliver to the countryside instead of a car. This is more cost-effective, faster and more environmentally friendly than the current way,” said Hohenthal.
A customer survey conducted by the company showed that people are willing to pay extra if the magazine arrives early and to their own yard.
The trial drones can carry a load of more than 3.5 kilograms at a time, but only take a few newspapers with them and are limited to distances of about 20 kilometers.
“Drones can fly in a horizontal line at about 80 kilometers per hour. It takes about a minute to drop one newspaper,” Hohenthal noted, adding that each trip would take about 20 minutes.
Therefore, in theory, one drone could serve just under a hundred households.
However, the trial will be challenging, Hohenthal said, especially in the freezing weather.
“To our knowledge, this has not been done anywhere else in the world,” he said.
If the experiment is successful, it could be replicated in many other areas, such as delivering mail, grocery bags or medicine to remote areas.
The Media Industry Research Foundation supports the experiment with 60,000 euros.
The price of the service is not yet known, as it depends on several different factors, especially the size of the potential customer base.
“If drones are used on a large scale in rural areas, it would be cheaper than delivering newspapers by car,” Hohenthal said.
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