Finland is known for its tough weather, yet residents in some areas are now receiving food orders by drone. After the annual Slush conference in Helsinki, a Finnish entrepreneur offered a look into how a three party collaboration is making this possible. The partnership involves an Irish drone delivery company, a food delivery platform and a Finnish startup called Huuva.
Huuva began as a cloud kitchen venture but has expanded while still depending heavily on technology. Its customers in the Espoo region are now able to receive some of their orders through drones. The food delivery platform has even been notifying users, “If available, we’ll send your order with a drone.”
Espoo, which is part of the Helsinki metropolitan area, is considered ideal for this model. Although European suburbs are more compact than those in the United States, people living or working in Espoo often lack the food variety available in central Helsinki. Huuva offers dishes from partner restaurant brands and drones help ensure the food arrives quickly and in good condition.
The drone operator brought its experience from Ireland, where it completed more than fifty thousand deliveries. Once the required approvals were granted, operations in Finland began smoothly. After a pilot phase starting in February, drones have been fully active for two months in Espoo. They take off from a launchpad shared with a delivery only grocery store.
Customers can order meals as well as groceries. Each drone can carry around 4.4 pounds and two drones can be dispatched at once. Speed is a major advantage, especially during lunch hours when road traffic slows down traditional delivery. Keeping food fresh is a priority and drone delivery also benefits the business by lowering costs.
Huuva estimates that regular deliveries cost around six euros each, while drone deliveries could bring that down to about one euro. Weather has not posed a major challenge since the Irish made drones were already tested in wind and rain. Snow fits within those conditions too, although icing requires switching to other delivery methods as chemical de icing cannot be used for food.
The drone programme is part of a wider shift in last mile delivery. The food delivery platform already uses sidewalk robots from other companies in Finland, while its parent company is experimenting with its own robots. Rumours suggest it may also explore its own drone programme alongside partnerships.
Huuva is considering expanding drone operations to another Espoo location where a closer launchpad could allow food to be handed over directly through a window. At present, workers collect food from the kitchen on e scooters, transport it in heat bags to the drone operators and weigh it before loading it into approved bags.
Safety remains a top priority. Drones always fly with fully charged batteries and include multiple layers of backup along with a parachute. Mission Control operates from Ireland, assessing flight paths using LiDAR maps. The drone captures an image of the drop zone for final approval before lowering the package with biodegradable rope.
Local teams are now handling double digit deliveries each day and preparing for their first winter season. Huuva plans to increase drone deliveries in Espoo and hopes to place its logo on the approved delivery bags in the future.
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