Drone delivery of convenience store products to be launched in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi-do

[Smart City Today]

Convenience store supplies ordered from pensions will be delivered more quickly and conveniently by drones in the Gapyeong area.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety (Minister Lee Sang-min) announced that it will hold a demonstration event for drone delivery of convenience store products in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi-do, and commercialize the drone delivery services using address-based drone delivery stores.

The ministry has set up drone delivery stores (272 branches) in areas with weak logistics to introduce address-based drone delivery services and has been promoting the pilot operation of address-based drone delivery in cooperation with companies and local governments.

In the leading project to advance the address information system, addresses are used as the means for users who order drone aircraft and pilots to check and communicate through addresses.

In the case of a general road name address, the entrance to the building is guided, but the drone delivery address is characterized by guiding a suitable place for nearby drones to land.

Commercialization of private-sector address-based drone delivery services will take place in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi-do, and can be used through the "ALLIVERY(App)" of PABLO AIR, a drone company.

Drone delivery is a method in which ordered products are delivered to pension delivery stores installed in about 20 places near the 7-Eleven convenience store in Gapyeong.

Two drones will be deployed in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi-do, and an operating base consisting of six professionals related to the operation has been installed.

According to the demonstration on this day, when using a drone, compared to moving from downtown Gapyeong to five places by vehicle, the distance was reduced by 69% (manned 52km → unmanned 15.7km) and travel time was reduced by 70% (89 minutes → 26 minutes).

The drone took about only two minutes to deliver an order from a convenience store 3km away to the pension.

It is expected to help residents of mountainous areas that are difficult to move or access due to heavy snow or disaster.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety plans to expand the "drone delivery service in the public sector" that has been piloted in Yeongwol-gun, Gangwon-do since 2021.

By the end of this year, 40 additional drone delivery stores will be installed in various places such as camping sites, parks, amusement parks, and senior citizen centers to provide public services and expand them to the private sector as soon as possible.

Choi Hoon, head of local government decentralization at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, said, "This is an example of the government's establishment of address-based industrial infrastructure (infrastructure) to reduce common costs for companies and allow the public to use new services.", and “We will expand the installation of drone delivery points where necessary through communication with companies in the future.”