FOOD DELIVERY PROJECT USING DRONES

[Anchor Lead]

Jeollanam-do Province is home to myriad islets. Transporting goods to islands is a complicated task, but with the help of drones it couldn't be easier. Goheung-gun County has successfully carried out a food delivery demonstration project using drones.

[Pkg]

A 20kg drone equipped with six propellers It's carrying a pork dish and a bottle of soda. The drone soars 30 meters above the ground and crosses the sea. It takes 15 minutes to deliver the food to an island located some four kilometers away. The government of Goheung-gun County carried out a food delivery demonstration project in cooperation with two private companies in a bid to facilitate the transportation of goods to islands. Now residents of such areas will also be able to order food from across the waters with ease in the foreseeable future. The drone service will soon be expanded to transporting medications to islands with poor access to hospitals and pharmacies, as well as parcel delivery.

[Soundbite] Song Si-hyun(Marine Robotics) : "Drones can be used to transport senior residents to hospitals when they need emergency medical care or to supply first aid items swiftly."

By next year drone service demonstrations will be held more than 50 times on five islands. The county is also trying to attract businesses to the Goheung Drone Center to create an unmanned aircraft complex to promote drone technology development and manufacturing.

[Soundbite] Park Jung-hyun(Goheung-gun County Government) : "We are awaiting permits for the creation of an unmanned aircraft complex where businesses can build factories and manufacture their products."

Jeollanam-do Province, home to the most number of islets in the nation, has emerged as a great test bed for the drone sector.