Drone Startup Launches Grocery Delivery in Germany

Last Thursday, German startup Wingcopter launched a drone and electric truck delivery project to transport everyday consumer goods to remote rural areas in central Germany.

Just like regular grocery delivery, customers in Michelstadt, Hesse, will be able to place orders through the website and choose a convenient delivery time slot. Then, autonomous helicopters will transport non-perishable products from a local supermarket to a delivery point outside the village. The final leg of the journey to the customer's doorstep will be completed by a human-driven electric truck from Riese & Müller, a truck manufacturer.

Initially, this pilot project called "LieferMichel" will offer non-perishable food from the local REWE supermarket (one of Wingcopter's supporters). If the project proves successful, the inclusion of more retailers will be considered.

Tom Plümmer, CEO of Wingcopter, said, "We are proud to pilot LieferMichel, Germany's first drone delivery service for groceries and everyday items. Our main goal is to gain experience with residents and evaluate an environmentally friendly and efficient service that creates tangible added value for rural communities."

Wingcopter is collaborating with Frankfurt UAS (Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences) on the drone-truck delivery (DroLEx - Drohnen-Lastenrad-Express-Belieferung) project. The pilot project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Digital and Transport (BMDV) as part of the €430,000 "Innovative Air Traffic" grant. The trial flights of "LieferMichel" will initially run until the end of 2023.

Other Application Areas

In 2017, Plümmer co-founded Wingcopter with Jonathan Hesselbarth and Ansgar Kadura. The company manufactures unmanned electric delivery drones and provides drone delivery services. With support from the European Investment Bank, REWE Group, Salvia, and other companies, this Darmstadt-based company currently has 150 employees.

Their latest drone, the Wingcopter 198, is built using patented tilt-rotor technology, enabling it to withstand strong winds and heavy rain during missions. It has a payload capacity of up to 5 kilograms, a range of 110 kilometers, an average wind resistance of 15 meters per second, gust resistance of 20 meters per second, and a default cruising speed of 100 kilometers per hour. It is also equipped with dual airspeed sensors, dual heading and positioning systems, and a redundant system architecture with dual flight controllers.

In the future, zero-emission food delivery options could indeed be crucial for the survival of remote rural areas. However, Wingcopter's products have several other use cases. The company has already deployed its drones for on-demand medical deliveries to remote islands in Vanuatu and Ireland, as well as volcano inspections in Italy and infrastructure inspections in Norway.