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| FedEx shipments arrive via independent cargo planes |
FedEx CEO Fred Smith said at its annual general meeting last week that FedEx is working with trusted Robotics to add the company's autonomous aircraft to its delivery fleet.
According to the company's press release, Reliable Robotics, an aerospace startup run by former engineers from Tesla and SpaceX, conducted test flights of two autonomous planes last month.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, FedEx now has the largest model, the Cessna 208 or C208, which is a single-engine aircraft that can carry up to 14 passengers.
The plan is for a smaller single-engine C208 turbo engine, Smith said, and we hope to deploy it to remote and sparsely populated areas as part of our network.
Rural areas are potential test sites for drones, also because regulatory hurdles are easy to overcome with less infrastructure and fewer staff.
However, FedEx has not phased out its current fleet of aircraft, and Smith has announced to shareholders that the company has no plans to replace its existing fleet of aircraft with standalone alternatives.
He added that airline crews will not have to worry about automating their missions for the foreseeable future.
This partnership is part of FedEx's drive to reduce delivery costs by partially automating the supply chain.
Wing Aviation announced on September 19 that it will partner with FedEx Express to launch a pilot drone delivery program in Virginia.
FedEx also launched its own team of independent delivery robots last year to help retailers with same-day deliveries.
With Google and UPS both gaining federal approval for drone delivery services, FedEx is competing with several companies to enter the automated delivery market, and Amazon's plan was approved in August.
The reliable robots are currently working with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to gradually bring the technology to market, which means the technology will receive federal approval.