Switzerland’s postal service will begin testing the commercial use of drones to deliver packages.
Swiss Post said it sees drones being used for exceptional cases or the transport of special items and does not except drone use to be widespread in the next five years.
The company is partnering with Swiss WorldCargo and drone manufacturing company Matternet to test the cost-effectiveness of the technology.
“From today’s point of view, the use of drones in emergency situations is conceivable. This could, for example, involve bringing supplies to an area that has been cut off from the outside world following a storm,” the company said in a statement.
The Matternet drone is designed for transporting packages up to 2.2 pounds and up to 6 miles, according to the company.
Swiss Post said there still are regulatory hurdles as well as the current limited battery life of drones.
In the United States, the Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership is planning the first legal delivery of a package by a drone. The research group, led by Virginia Tech and designated a Federal Aviation Administration drone test site operator, expects to deliver a package of medicine to a patient.
The delivery would take more than an hour by car but is expected to take the drone about 15 minutes.
The medicine will be delivered by two drones, one built by NASA for longer distances then transferred to another that can lower the package to the ground. The event will be recorded by another drone created by an aerial photography startup.
Amazon.com Inc. has been working on a drone delivery service called Prime Air and has said it wants to deliver packages weighing less than 5 pounds with unmanned aircraft capable of reaching speeds of more than 50 mph.
Amazon previously has said 86% of its deliveries are light enough to be made by its proposed drones, allowing for faster service to customers.
