The demonstration took place on the campus of the National University of Singapore, ahead of a wider trial of its “Skyways” delivery service in the city-state later this year.

“Safe and reliable urban air delivery is a reality not too distant into the future, and Airbus is certainly excited to be a forerunner in this endeavor,” said Airbus chief technology officer Alain Flourens.

There are many companies that are trying to develop drone-based delivery technology, from tech giants such as Google and Amazon to established logistics outfits such as DHL.

Airbus’s take on the emerging field, however, goes beyond showing the practicality of a small unmanned vehicle taking packages from one place to another. In this demonstration, the drone took off from its maintenance center, was automatically loaded with a robotic arm at a “specially designed parcel station, took off again, landed, and then automatically unloaded its package.

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