In its inaugural launch, the first Russian-made postal drone was meant to deliver postal packages to a nearby town. Instead, it failed miserably.
It’s just not Russia’s year. First, the country was banned from the Olympics, which is basically the world’s biggest party. The nation has been left out of an international investigation into the poisoning of an ex-spy (due to probably being the perpetrator), and now even its technology is failing.
If that’s not a metaphor for a crappy 2018 then we don’t know what is.
The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was supposed to deliver a small package to a nearby village in a ceremony celebrating the Russian Post’s new program, according to Reuters. With an ability to deliver goods weighing from 50 to 300 kilograms (110 to 660 pounds), the $20,000 drone seems like an innovative response to delivering goods in difficult-to-get-to places.
That is, until you see the April 2 video.
In it, the drone is seen launching from a mini-launch pad embellished with Russia’s logo in the middle. The drone takes off successfully, and even manages to buzz around for a few seconds before losing altitude, dropping through the air, and ultimately crashing into a three-story building in front of a small crowd of people who were heard uttering expletives, said the news service.
If you listen closely you can hear some... choice swear words in there.
Plans for the delivery drone service were announced in 2016 as an innovative way to reach remote, small villages throughout the vast country. The pilot program was meant to take off the first half of this year in a part of the country that has severe winter conditions, with temperatures that drop to as low as -50 C.
The Russian Post said they were only there as a guest and the company who made the drone, Rudron/Expeditor 3M, organized the testing. Nonetheless, plans to reach #2018Goals are still moving forward.
“We won’t stop with this, we will keep trying,” head of the Republic of Buryatia Alexei Tsydenov told the newswire. “Those who don’t risk don’t get a result.”
Fortunately, no one was harmed in the process. Pride, on the other hand, may be a different story.
[H/T Futerism]
1
