- Drone deliveries are becoming more ambitious
- A new South Korean experiment delivered fried chicken to a remote island
- It is one of 80 test runs over the past month
Delivery drone programs are getting smarter and more ambitious: A pilot scheme in South Korea has successfully delivered an order of fried chicken to a customer on remote Biyang Island, via both a drone and an autonomous four-wheeled robot.
The delivery drone traveled over three kilometers (1.86 miles) of sea to reach its destination and transfer its delicious cargo, reports The Korea Times. There is no indication of what the takeaway meal actually tasted like, but the “local resident” involved filed no complaints.
This is part of an extensive test conducted by the Korea Aerospace Administration (KASA) and the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), supported by the government of South Korea. About 80 such deliveries have been completed in the past month.
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And Biyang Island is a particularly suitable challenge for this autonomous delivery technology. Not only is the location remote, it also has narrow alleys winding through the volcanic island that traditional delivery vehicles would struggle with.
Ready to replace existing logistics
✔️드론과 자재주하로로하에의’문 한 한국이스’ 제주 금능포구~비 양굼~비 양 아이하이하다! pic.twitter.com/fXaV4e3LDlApril 24, 2026
While commercial drones typically have a payload of around three kilograms in weight, the aircraft tested here can hold up to 40 kilograms, meaning many items can be packed into a single delivery and sent off.
“It is rare to repeatedly test high-payload deliveries under such different conditions,” KASA said, according to the report in The Korea Times. “This technology is reaching a level where it can replace day-to-day logistics operations.”
However, there is still plenty of work to do: Commercial services won’t be ready for another five years as the technology develops further and privacy and security concerns are ironed out with regulators.
While it’s not ready for the masses just yet, it’s an exciting glimpse into the future of drone-robotic deliveries, where the technology is advancing rapidly – and it’s those in the most remote, hard-to-reach places that are set to benefit the most.
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