Grab is set to conduct a three-month trial of drone-assisted food delivery in Singapore’s Tanjong Rhu area in collaboration with ST Engineering’s Unmanned Air Systems business.

By using a drone solution developed by ST Engineering, the pilot will examine how autonomous flights can be incorporated into existing delivery operations alongside delivery partners.

The trial selected the Tanjong Rhu region as the Kallang River separates many homes from a cluster of eateries, and travelling around the river can add time to deliveries.

In practice, a delivery partner will transport the order to the drone launchpad at Republic Avenue, where Grab staff will handle loading.

An ST Engineering drone operator will then manage the aircraft and fly it along an approved route across the Kallang River.

After landing at the designated Tanjong Rhu hub, Grab staff will receive and unload the order, and another partner will complete the delivery to the customer.

ST Engineering has trained more than 20 delivery partners on safe and efficient handovers to support this workflow.

Drone Delivery (Beta) is scheduled to run from Tuesday to Sunday between 10am and 6pm, with up to 28 deliveries each day.

Average flight time is estimated at eight minutes for a round trip. Operations will pause during wet weather conditions, and flights will not take place on public holidays.

Grab stated that the drone is designed to operate at noise levels comparable to a normal conversation.

A company statement said: “The pilot would be open to consumers making an order from within the Tanjong Rhu area and limited to merchant partners from Bugis, Kampong Glam and Suntec City to allow us to conduct the trial in a controlled manner.”