Skye Air Mobility Launches AI-Powered Drone Delivery Service In Gurugram

Gurugram: Marking a new phase in hyperlocal logistics, a Gurugram-based drone delivery company, Skye Air Mobility, has started doorstep deliveries using drones and artificial intelligence-powered robots. The company has been conducting trials of drone deliveries in hilly regions and urban areas for some years. It is now kick-starting the service in its home city, Gurugram, with plans to expand operations nationally and globally.

“We are India’s first company in this space. Over the past two and a half years, we have completed 3.6 million deliveries and saved around 1,000 tonnes of carbon emissions (CO2)," said Ankit Kumar, CEO of Skye Air Mobility. "Going forward, we plan to expand to more locations and other cities and take this initiative further."

Kumar said that, as announced that day at the AI Impact Summit, their partnership with Arrive AI, an American company listed on Nasdaq, and Ottonomy was a significant step. "We install their Arrive Point, a smart mailbox system, in residential townships or commercial complexes, where the drone delivers packages, all automatically," he added.

Drone delivery company Skye Air begins AI-powered doorstep delivery in Gurugram (Skye Air)

Speaking further, Kumar said that there would also be a demonstration of how this physical AI was being implemented in the real world. As part of Skye Air Mobility's drone delivery service, a drone delivers a package to the port at the Arrive Point, and from there, a rover collects the package and delivers it directly to the consumer.

Kumar also spoke about collaboration with another US-based firm to enable last-mile automation. "The third company we've collaborated with is Autonomy, an American company that has developed an autonomous rover that automatically retrieves a shipment from its arrival point and delivers it to the consumer's doorstep. Consumers can enter their OTP and automatically receive the shipment."

Outlining the company's future roadmap, he said Gurugram will serve as the launchpad before scaling operations nationally and globally.

"In the future, we will take this to every location in Gurugram, to every area, and, as our Prime Minister said, India is poised to make significant strides in the field of AI. India is the first country in the world where we are starting this. Its foundation has been laid here, and we want to explore it first in Gurugram, and then expand to other cities in India, and then we will take the same thing to the rest of the world," Kumar said.

Skye Air Mobility, CEO, Ankit Kumar poses for a photo with a drone as it marks a milestone of 1000+ Flights in 6 months, during an event, in New Delhi (File Photo from March 2022; Credits: ANI)

Last year, Skye Air Mobility conducted successful drone trials for the Indian Postal Department in Himachal Pradesh, introducing a new service termed the "Himachal: 10-Minute Mail Revolution." The initiative aims to significantly enhance mail delivery in remote and snow-bound areas of the state.