F-Drones debut: Singapore's first drone delivery

Singapore's first drone delivery service has started recently, and its operator said on Wednesday that drones are crucial to reducing human contact during the epidemic. The use of drones is one step towards technological innovation in Singapore and can also solve the country's labor shortage problem.

F-Drones, the company that provides this service, said that the drone delivered two kilograms of vitamins to the ship of its first paying customer, Eastern Pacific Shipping Company. The flight lasted 7 minutes and covered a distance of 2.7 kilometers (1.7 miles).

1. Advantages of drone delivery

"In addition to being efficient, drone delivery can also reduce unnecessary human contact," said Nicolas Ang, CEO of F-Drones.

F-Drones said it plans to develop a drone that can deliver ships and offshore platforms within a distance of 100 kilometers and carry a load of up to 100 kilograms by the second half of 2021.

Currently, maritime transportation is completed by small boats and helicopters. F-Drones said that using unmanned vehicles will save up to 80% of costs and be more environmentally friendly.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore supports the use of drones and is working with industry players to develop regulations for the drone industry.

F-Drones has completed the first commercial beyond line of sight drone (BVLOS) delivery in Singapore on April 19, 2020.

The drone delivered 2kg of vitamins in 7 minutes to a ship managed by East Coast Shipping Company (EPS), 2.7km away. EPS, one of the world’s largest private ship management companies, is F-drones’ first paying customer.

In Singapore, as in most parts of the world, a BVLOS permit or permit is required when operating a drone beyond the drone pilot's line of sight. Without these, commercial drone delivery services will not be viable.

2. Introduction to Singapore F-drones Company

F-drones is the first company in Singapore to be authorized by aviation authorities to conduct BVLOS drone deliveries for ships in Singapore. Currently, this is limited to delivering drones to ships anchored south of the dock area. This is already an important milestone for global drones and Singapore, as only a handful of companies globally are conducting commercial BVLOS drone deliveries. F Drone is already working to expand its operational range.

Started over a year ago, F-drones is a homegrown startup developing fully electric and autonomous large-scale delivery drones. They aim to eventually use their proprietary drones capable of delivering 100kg payloads to ships and offshore platforms within 100km. This will help ease the pain of delivering supplies in marine and offshore applications that rely on boats and helicopters.

These traditional transportation methods are expensive, slow, labor-intensive and carbon-intensive. F-drones' solutions can help save up to 80% of costs, time and CO2 emissions. "In addition to increasing efficiency, drones can reduce unnecessary human contact amid the COVID-19 pandemic," said Nicolas Ang, CEO of F-drones.

Currently, F-drones use off-the-shelf drones that can only deliver a 5kg payload within 5km. Its chief technology officer Yeshwanth Reddy said it is "one of the best drones we can buy on the market.

“As the marine and offshore industry requires larger payloads to be sent over longer distances, F-drones are innovating on system-level aircraft.”

3. F-drones’ prospects for drone delivery

F-drones plans to complete the development of its 100kg-100km drone in the second half of 2021. Its latest prototype, the third one, called Hyperlaunch, will be able to deliver 5kg payloads to ships within a range of 50km. After more testing and improvements, F-drones will begin commercial operations using Hyperlaunch by the end of 2020. Hyperlaunch itself is already an attractive product for the shipping industry.

Gil Ofer, head of open innovation at Eastern Pacific Lines, said: “EPS has been part of the F-drones test delivery since November 2019, when they joined the Eastern Pacific accelerator powered by Techstars. We believe their solutions will play an important role in the successful delivery of BVLOS which is a landmark event and we are very proud to be part of its journey.”

F-drones also cooperates with tanker company Hafnia. Shanker Pillai, Head of Innovation and Change at Hafnia, said: “We are delighted to be working with F-drones to develop drone technology aimed at enabling remote and emergency delivery of small packages to ships. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic , drones may help reduce human contact during delivery. We are excited to be part of this development and look forward to the first commercial drone deliveries to our ships.”