Seat car plant gets parts delivered by drone

Spanish manufacturer Seat is bypassing traffic and reducing carbon emissions by transporting equipment by drone.

It’s revolutionising logistics by loading parts into a carbon fibre capsule and attaching them to the drone with an electromagnet, slashing delivery time of parts by 80%.

A video produced by Seat shows a steering wheel being attached to the drone at the Grupo Sesé Logistics Centre in Abrera, near Martorell, Spain. It then takes off from the launch pad for the 2km trip to Seat’s assembly workshop.

The drone, which has a 1.7-metre diameter, flies 95 metres above ground at speeds of up to 25mph before dropping off the capsule at its destination four minutes later.

It takes just 15 minutes for the steering wheel to be ordered and transported to the production line where it is fitted to the new car.

“With this innovation, we are boosting ‘Industry 4.0’ and will be more efficient, agile and competitive, as well as much more sustainable,” said Seat’s Dr Christian Vollmer.

The system is emissions-free as drones run on electric batteries, potentially reducing CO2 emissions by around one tonne per year.

At the moment, it is using drones for transporting steering wheels and airbags, but plans to take the service further. Meanwhile, the Spanish Aviation Safety Agency is supervising the project.