en.Wedoany.com Reported - iFood has expanded its drone delivery service to Barueri, a city in the Greater São Paulo region of Brazil, aiming to address logistics challenges in large residential complexes. In traditional ground delivery, rejection rates approach 50% due to difficulties in accessing these complexes and long waits at security gates. The service plans to activate the local market and optimize the delivery ecosystem by shifting ground routes to aerial corridors.
The service adopts a multimodal delivery model, retaining delivery personnel as key players in the last mile. The process begins at the Iguatemi Shopping Center, where an autonomous robot named Ada or a courier picks up the order from the restaurant. The drone then performs the aerial transport at a speed of 50 km/h and an altitude of 60 meters, covering a distance of 3.6 kilometers in just 5 minutes. Finally, the drone lands at a designated point, transferring the package to a partner courier who completes the final delivery to the customer's home by motorcycle. Mariana Werneck, Senior Director of Logistics at iFood, stated that the technology aims to complement, not replace, ground professionals, potentially increasing restaurant sales and ensuring more orders and income for couriers.
The drone, developed by Brazilian company Speedbird Aero, can withstand wind speeds of up to 55 km/h and light rain. The flight route has been approved by Brazil's National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) and the Department of Airspace Control (DECEA), and is monitored in real-time by a control center in Franca. This is the first delivery route in Brazil authorized to fly over residential areas, based on a certification obtained late last year that allows operations in areas with population densities of up to 5,000 people per square kilometer. Speedbird Aero CEO Manoel Coelho noted that the industry's challenges extend beyond flight technology, requiring strong system integration capabilities and compliance to overcome urban logistics barriers. This model was previously successfully operated in Sergipe, reducing a one-hour land journey to a three-minute flight, generating over 5,000 orders, and boosting sales for partner restaurants by up to 50%. In Barueri, the service operates daily from 10:30 AM to 10:30 PM, using two drones with a payload capacity of 5 kg, equipped with GPS and emergency parachutes.
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