France to let drones deliver mail: We wish this happens in India

The news about drones delivering postal mail and parcels is a lot better than misusing drones to spy and in a recent scenario , even for war. While drone delivery services have been received well in some countries (with some really beneficial uses in rescue and aid ), there are some like minded-people like the French postal service that want to start using drones for postal deliveries. The project which has been under testing for about 3 years now, is expected to take off as an experiment on a fixed route in an attempt to demonstrate the usefulness of drones in rural areas that are otherwise hard to reach on foot or by road. It would also be the first attempt to roll out a postal deliver service using just drones. This is still an experiment and the service will only operate on a fixed route and just once a week. Recode states that it is a mile long route that stretches between Saint-Maximin-La-Sainte-Beaume and Pourrières in the Provence region of France. The company in charge is DPDgroup, that is a subsidiary of the French national postal service. The company has been testing its drone delivery service with partnership with drone maker Atechsys since 2014. As mentioned above, the unmanned drones will not be replacing your usual, friendly mail man or disrupting the postal network, it will simply allow the postal service to make deliveries to rural areas that are hard to reach. Indeed many would be happy if all mail were to be dispatched via drones. It would make your local mail service more efficient and with the right infrastructure in place, a lot more reliable as well. [caption id=“attachment_353114” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”]  Amazon Prime Air[/caption] With IoT in the picture, tracking your mail would be a lot better as well, and smarter drones could even prioritise deliveries on its path or go the extra mile, with charge stations along the way. We wish this happened in India. Unfortunately, that seems like an uphill task. Thanks to **local regulations** . The draft Guidelines for Obtaining Unique Identification Number and Operation of Civil Unmanned Aircraft System (the Draft Guidelines) are just not designed for commercial unmanned drone deliveries (yet). However, the concerns mentioned out here are understandable and are to do with safety and privacy concerns. The first one is to do with the fact that every single drone that flies above 200 feet has to be registered. While it looks like a hurdle that could be overcome easily, the draft guidelines also mention that every single drone out there will need a separate permit taking its weight into consideration. The easy way out here to let the drone find it way only 200 feet off the ground that will get it owners an exemption to the rule. But then there’s another one. According to the same guidelines, every drone will need be manned by an operator with aircraft level training. Yes every drone must have its own operator. This is a complex one. The authorities will need to be notified of every single drone flight. This would include regulatory authorities, including the Air Traffic Services Unit and your local police station. What makes this the toughest one to pull off, is the fact that every single flight plan (route) will have to be notified for every single delivery. While it is possible to deliver in urban areas as well, drone flight paths would have to avoid a long list of prohibited zones such as military and landmark areas. Delhi for example is a complete no fly zone for drones. And these would be just some of the few hurdles along the way if drone deliveries have to take off in India. Indeed plenty would get straightened out, if the government itself takes up the initiative, and while the above guidelines will be aimed at urban areas, it’s the rural areas that should benefit the most. So it is a win-win situation at the end of it all.