Drone startup delivers food across 20 kms in 30 minutes

Gurugram: A drone startup called Skye Air Mobility said that it was able to successfully deliver frozen food across an aerial distance of 20 kms in less than 30 minutes.

The Gurugram-based company delivered frozen food to cloud kitchen startup Curefoods using its unmanned aerial vehicle. After receiving food at its cloud kitchen outlets in the city, Curefoods is now planning to deliver foods using drones to customers soon.

Founder of Curefoods Ankit Nagori said they are starting with B2B pilot kitchen deliveries because it ensures a larger quantity at a lesser cost.

During the trials, drones took up to six flights a day and carried a load of 5 kg. Food was enclosed in temperature-controlled boxes that maintained a -20°C to keep the frozen food fresh. Drones carried packages from Curefoods warehouse in Jhundsari to the Curefoods Kitchen Outlet at Golf Course Road. The points are beyond the visual line of sight.

CEO of Skye Air Mobility Ankit Kumar said that this is a first-of-its-kind initiative in the direction to use cutting-edge technology to deliver food. He added that the company is gathering data on route, flight, and cost-economic viability from the ongoing BVLOS trials to develop models for commercial flights in the next few months.

Skye Air Mobility is currently using the most reliable UAV and Skye Ship One to facilitate real-time deliveries ensuring optimal flight safety and temperature monitoring. Skye Ship One is currently India's most reliable delivery drone and has completed over 1,200 flights.

Since 2020, the company has been working with healthcare supplies, agriculture commodities, and groceries and has completed over 1,500 flights.