During a second, unofficial demonstration of the HorseFly for UPS on Monday, some sort of interference – possibly from the broadcast reporters’ cameras - caused an issue with the drone’s compass. The drone aborted its launch, tried to land on top of the UPS truck, fell to the side and was nearly crushed by the still-closing lid of the vehicle.Whoops. Workhorse, a drone-building tech firm that partnered with UPS for this project, says it’s never seen its drones do such a thing, lending credence to the idea that this was a one-off incident. The truck/drone combo is still a work in progress, and Workhorse CEO Steve Burns suggested the hardest part of the process is getting the drones to come home. “The toughest thing, technically, is having the HorseFly drone re-mate with the electric truck,” he said. “There’s a small portal… we basically have to have a robotics system up on the top that grabs it, picks it up, and puts it in the hole.” [caption id="attachment_140088" align="aligncenter" width="2048"] UPS driver loading drone for delivery credit: TechCrunch[/caption]
UPS Shows Why Drones Can't Replace Humans
[caption id="attachment_140087" align="aligncenter" width="2048"] UPS drones aren't perfect. Credit: TechCrunch[/caption] UPS has launched a new aerial drone concept, built to deliver small packages. The company says the ‘HorseFly’ drones, deployed by trucks, won’t replace drivers, and its recent demo showed why that’s true. Showing off its new concept to reporters, UPS tried to launch HorseFly from a specially-equipped all-electric truck. The drone has a basket that splits down the center to unload the parcel at your doorstep. The demo drone's first pass was a complete success; the package was delivered as planned, and the drone returned to the truck, where a pair of mechanical arms pulled it back to its rooftop docking station. A second try didn’t go so well. From TechCrunch: