Hello,

Can someone give me advice about a (not too expensive) drone +system used for delivery in a small (but on the country side, wide spread area) village ?
It is allowed to fly there, even autonomous.

App
I was thinking of developing a small iPhone/Android App in which people can give their order and send it (along with their GPS location).  An order is always < 2KG.

Drone
Should be capable of flying about 20min. and max. cargo/payload is 2KG.
I was thinking of a DJI Matric 100,  or a Spreading Wings S900 (however, those are older)
Are these drones waterproof to let them be on the ground, outside, in the rain on the charging pad?
I want Colission detection sensors, especially for the autonomous flights, you never know if someone just placed a big antenna in his garden.


Delivery
I was thinking of 2 options
1.  The Skyhook for quick delivery when people are in sight (can be seen from the Camera of the drone), cargo which is not fragile. (anyone with a better alternative than SkyHook?)
2.  I give people a 1x1Meter carpet which they can lay out on a place outside, the drone will land there for autonomous flights and exact location.    How can I get the drone recognize the carpet?  Can I program it in Ground Station?   Should I use the same carpet for my own 'home' location?   (Anyone with creative ideas?)

Home location/Charging
A Skysense outdoor charging pad  (is quite expensive),  however, it is wather/rain proof.

DJI Ground Station
Can I call the ground station from an API?   It is possible to connect the APP that I develop to this ground station?  I have seen that I can load KML/SHP files in the Ground station,  but did not saw how to load Waypoint files or something like that..   I can let my App put a file on a Shared drive,  the from the Ipad/Ground Station load it to start the flight  (after I put the cargo under the drone )
If someone has an Alternative or better program,  let me know.

Too many Sci-Fi movies watched ??? Hiring a local village kid with a bike will be much cheaper, safer and more reliable ...

Matthew Dobrski Posted at 9-14 12:12
Too many Sci-Fi movies watched ??? Hiring a local village kid with a bike will be much cheaper, safer and more reliable ...

Maybe,  but it's the challenge to get this working and do a Proof of Concept

CargoAdvice Posted at 9-16 00:34
Maybe,  but it's the challenge to get this working and do a Proof of Concept

Oh, if the challenge only is fuelling this concept, then by all means go ahead. Personally I think the technology is not there yet (i.e. flight endurance), although many other thinkers is trying to employ drone delivery systems. It's perfectly doable ...
1. As for today only DJI M200 drone may fit the bill. It's weatherproof and powerfull enough to carry significant load, although 1.45 kg is specified as maximum, camera including.
2. At 2-2.5 km maximum distance - assuming unobstructed VLOS and radio communication - the drone should be able to reach pre-determined destination, drop the cargo (impact issue) and RTH with one set of TB55 batteries. Forget one-way flight with landing at destination, too difficult and dangerous to perform it remotely. Although some small DJI drones are offering autonomous Precise Landing feature, it's limited to a Home Point only.3. Skysense ... interesting concept, although I don't believe such sophistication is necessary at this moment. Batteries may be replaced manually after RTH, since new cargo must be loaded anyway. Focus on individual missions planning and on remote cargo releasing mechanism for now ...

Good luck!

Thanks  @Matthew Dobrski

I indeed agree that something like a Skyhook (drop the cargo) is easier than landing and open up a bay or something.   Especially the thing with precise landing and Autonomous landing...  So for now I will do something like SkyHook.


For the drone itself,  I agree a M200 V2 would be great.   It's weatherproof.    What about the (more expensive) M600 Pro ?   Is that also weatherproof?

Roel