Akihabara News (Tokyo) — Seino Holdings and Aeronext have launched two drone delivery services within Kosuge village, a mountainous area of Yamanashi Prefecture.
The two services are the SkyHub Store, a convenience store specializing in on-demand delivery, and the second is SkyHub Delivery, a delivery service created in collaboration with other local shops and restaurants.
SkyHub Store allows local residents to order their groceries and daily necessities via the SkyHub app up to 30 minutes before delivery. The system uses a Drone Depot, a drone delivery base, that is an on-demand service utilizing purchase forecasts based on customers’ past records, and then delivers them by the most suitable means, either by land or air.
Kosuge village customers have a selection of about three hundred groceries and daily necessities on the app. There is a sixteen time slot delivery schedule at thirty-minute intervals every day. The shipping fee is ¥300 (US$2.60).
Deliveries are usually made by drone unless weather or other circumstances intervene. Delivery by car is the back-up option.
SkyHub Delivery uses the same app, but expands the delivery service to other local shops, supermarkets, and restaurants (about a thousand items in all). This is intended to make the drone services more welcome to, and supportive of, the local community.
Seino and Aeronext are planning a rollout of the SkyHub system to approximately 820 depopulated municipalities around Japan. While no target dates for this expansion have been announced, the firms say it will happen “speedily” with Kamishihoro town, Hokkaido, expected to become the second venue this month.
Tsuruga city, Fukui Prefecture, has also signed an agreement to become an early venue.
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