BA owner flies autonomous drones inside freight warehouse

IAG Cargo, the cargo handling division of BA parent IAG, says it has carried out a trial of autonomous drone technology at a warehouse in the Spanish capital of Madrid. In an announcement Wednesday, IAG Cargo said the technology had been “designed around the automation of freight checks” and that it would help to boost both the reliability and efficiency of operations. A cargo business which serves more than 350 destinations globally, IAG Cargo employs over 2,400 people. The trials were undertaken after IAG Cargo said it found that, on average, 6,500 hours per year were being spent recording the location data and barcodes of freight stored in its warehouses. They made use of technology from FlytBase, a start-up which specialises in drone software. So far, two trials have been completed. Among other things, the tech enabled the drones to detect and read air waybills accurately and identify empty slot locations in the warehouse. An air waybill is a crucial document which contains key pieces of information related to a shipment. When required, the drones used by IAG Cargo automatically fly back to charging stations to self-charge.<br/>