Aerit completed Sweden’s first commercial beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) food delivery in collaboration with Region Halland using its autonomous drone the Nimbi.
The delivery flight began at Hygge, a local cafe near Tylösand beach, where a freshly made galette was winched into the Nimbi waiting at hover. The Nimbi then ascended into the sky and flew a pre-planned 2.7km route to the delivery location where the package was lowered to the ground. Jimmy Sandberg, Marketing Manager for Region Halland, was the recipient of the delivery.
The galette was delivered as part of a pilot project designed to explore both the technical and regulatory aspects of drone delivery under new EU wide regulations allowing for commercial drone operations. The regulations came came into effect in January of this year.
“Autonomous flying drones provide numerous advantages to traditional last-mile solutions including speed, sustainability, accessibility, and, of course, a certain cool-factor.” said Alexander Perrien, Chief Executive Officer of Aerit. “We have been working closely with Region Halland and Transportstyrelsen to ensure that today’s delivery marks the beginning of long-lasting relationships to enable the growth of drone delivery across Sweden and the EU.”
The delivery follows the first BVLOS food delivery in Sweden conducted by a team of RISE researchers in 2019.
Aerit’s Nimbi delivery drones are battery powered with a max payload capacity of 4kg. Nimbi features an autonomous winching system that allows for both package pick-up and drop-off without the need for additional infrastructure. Aerit will begin offering continuous delivery services in select locations across Sweden in 2022.
The entire delivery and testing process was filmed for a short documentary to be released later this year.
Aerit is a sustainable drone delivery service based in Stockholm, Sweden. Its mission is the democratization of access to goods and services regardless of location, weather, time of day, or personal ability. Its delivery platform connects businesses with their customers using our Nimbi drones. Nimbi is capable of both pick-up and delivery without the need for additional infrastructure.