The United States Postal Service (USPS) recently issued a Request for Information (RFI) from industry experts on unmanned aircraft systems used for letter or parcel delivery. USPS says that it is merely investigating the feasibility of using drones as an integrated part of its vehicle delivery fleet, as well as to provide image and other data collection services.

Drones could aid USPS with “long driveway delivery,” rural package delivery, and delivery to remote or rugged locations. Additionally, USPS could use drones as part of a “ride sharing model” in which other businesses use USPS drones to deliver their products or where drone service providers use USPS drones for non-delivery tasks such as power line inspection.

The RFI, stated, “[USPS]’s investigation is focusing on developing solutions for remote piloted aircraft operations for delivery of mail beyond visual line of sight, as well as developing universal standard navigation capabilities for UAS, secure data protocols, and best practices for maintenance and training programs in the UAS arena.”

USPS is currently reviewing the materials and information it has received.