Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is looking to advance its mail delivery fleet using drones. The agency issued a request for information (RFI) as it seeks to gather information about the unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) market, which it will use to consider future requirements.
Candidates would develop UAS operations and demonstrate the reliability and safety of using drone technology for mail delivery. Drones would fulfill several missions for the USPS, including launching from trucks to make deliveries, and ride-sharing, a program that would allow customers to access the drones for business-to-customer deliveries.Other uses would see drones deployed on routes that are costly to operate. The USPS wants to use drones a minimum of eight continuous hours per day and over hilly terrain, water, semi-improved roads, and city streets. Initially, drones will make four flights per day.
The USPS also wants to help with autonomous vehicle initiatives, and its own drone fleet would be useful in collecting geospatial and sensor data for three-dimensional mapping. Candidates must submit RFI proposals by November 4.