Swiggy, Anra Tech to launch first BVLOS drone delivery trials for food

For the next several weeks, the flight team will conduct food and medical package deliveries in Etah and Rupnagar districts using Anra SmartSkies technology.

(Representative image) Swiggy and Anra Tech will be using beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drones for these deliveries.  (Sanchit Khanna/HT PHOTO)

Anra Technologies and Swiggy have said that stakeholders from Ministry of Defence, Directorate General of Civil Aviation and Ministry of Civil Aviation awarded final clearances for a consortia to start trials for beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations in India.

Months of planning, risk assessments, air traffic control integration, training, equipment preparation, and coordination culminated with Anra's flight team launching its first sortie.

For the next several weeks, the flight team will conduct BVLOS food and medical package deliveries in Etah and Rupnagar districts using Anra SmartSkies technology.

Out of the selected participants in the programme, Anra is the only UAS technology provider approved by the Ministry of Civil Aviation to lead two consortia as part of this pioneering initiative.

One consortium consists of Anra along with its partners Swiggy, Indian Institute of Technology in Ropar and BetterDrones, a drone service provider which will focus on food delivery.

The second consortium includes Anra and the Indian Institute of Technology in Ropar, and will focus on medical deliveries.

"We are excited about the potential that drones offer and look forward to trials on BVLOS operations for use case of food delivery," said Shilpa Gnaneshwar, Principal Programme Manager at Swiggy.

The on-demand delivery platform connects consumers to over one lakh restaurant partners and stores in over 500 cities. Anra Technologies is an international provider of airspace management solutions for unmanned aircraft operators and airspace managers.