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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Drones trials in delivery of postal and food parcels

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The Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones (OPAZ) hosted the second phase of experiments involving the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (drones) to help deliver postal and food parcels as part of tech-driven service delivery solutions to be offered in the SEZ at Duqm.


The US-based company, UVL Robotics, which is specialised in advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and drones, carried out two experiments in cooperation with Azim Technology Company, one of the local companies providing artificial intelligence services and autonomous systems.


In the first experiment, a number of parcels and postal mails were delivered from the Oman Post office in Duqm to the headquarters of the Special Economic Zone at Duqm. The experiment succeeded in delivering the goods within only a few minutes, during which the drone travelled an estimated distance of around 11 kilometres.


In the second experiment, a basket of food and beverages was delivered from an outlet in Say commercial district to Renaissance Village, flying for about 6 kilometres. The experiment marked a success in delivering food parcels in a record time. During the two experiments, the team employed an electric drone that can fly 25 kilometres and carry a payload of up to 5 kg.


UVL Robotics provides infrastructure solutions for delivery services by offering drone landing station, which comes as a smart box that can accommodate over thirty parcels. Thus, the drones land on the box to drop and save the postal parcels inside this box. Being built with the latest technologies in this field, the box includes an electronic screen that makes it easier for the user to make payments and get the postal parcel post putting his interactive code.


Commenting on the experiments, Issa al Sumri of OPAZ said the demos, which began in SEZAD last month, reflects the Authority’s efforts to encourage the use of artificial intelligence technologies. OPAZ has designated a dedicated zone for AI and drone experiments in SEZAD, covering 18 square kilometres of area.


Sultan al Hatali from Azim Technology Company noted that the Zone has many advantages that contribute to the success of these experiments.


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