LOGISTIC DRONE TRIALS HELD AT MILTON PARK

Oxfordshire’s science and technology hub Milton Park hosted a series of drone and electric van trials probing the next generation of logistics.

The trials, which took place in August, are part of the HARMONY project which is an initiative that tests low-carbon transportation and its integration into existing systems.

Oxfordshire County Council planned and oversaw the demonstrations, with support from HARMONY’s academic partner, University College London, and from the initiative’s consortium including RUAS, who provided and flew the drones, and Airbus, through its Unmanned Traffic Management platform.

The project’s aim is to demonstrate the technology in real-world conditions and to better understand the challenges and requirements of integrating it.

The trials at Milton Park, which included the delivery of a defibrillator, showed the increased efficiency and speed of automated freight delivery, with the use of an electric van highlighting the sustainability potential.

Councillor Pete Sudbury, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Climate Change Delivery and Environment, said: “Innovative zero-carbon-ready transport is set to make a huge impact, it just needs us to demonstrate how. Hence this trial, which is another example of our close working with our world-leading universities, of which we are extremely proud.”