Manna - Drone Delivery as a Service

by Startacus Admin
Manna is an innovative Irish startup that's on a mission to use commercial drones and make 3-minute delivery within the community a reality
We’ve been writing for a while about how drones will become more widespread and more useful as time goes on. Most recently, we wrote about Apian, the startup creating drone-based delivery of COVID-19 test kits, samples, and PPE, but reliance on drones will go on long after the pandemic ends.
Delivering vital equipment and supplies in times of need, simple delivery convenience, reaching harder to access locations - whatever the reason to use drones, we think their potential is only just beginning to be tapped into.
Irish startup Manna knows this, and was already working on their commercial drone delivery before COVID-19 came along.
Manna’s drones are being developed with the aim of making 3-minute delivery within the community a reality, be it food from the local takeaway or your prescription from the pharmacy. These drones fly at 80kph, at an altitude of 80 metres, allowing them to deliver within a 2km radius in no more than 3 minutes. You can have your kung po chicken in front of you before your stomach even stops rumbling!
The ultimate goal of Manna is to completely replace road-based delivery - not a particularly good piece of news for delivery drivers, perhaps; particularly when they are some of the few who are still able to work during lockdown - and take the process to the sky. Manna is already up and flying in Galway, partnered with JustEat, Ben & Jerry’s, and Thai restaurant Camile.
At the end of last year, Manna took home the Grand Prix Startup of the Year Award at the National Startup Awards 2020, set up to recognise innovative, successful, and aspirational Irish startups who launched in the previous five years. The 2020 awards were spread across tech, fintech, medtech retail, and product, with a new category for startups acting on the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Published on: 11th January 2021
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