Grab takes off with drone food delivery trial in Tanjong Rhu

Grab has kicked off a three-month drone delivery pilot in Tanjong Rhu, leveraging autonomous technology, the company said in a blog post on Tuesday (Jan 6).

The pilot, conducted in partnership with ST Engineering's Unmanned Air Systems — which developed the drone solution — aims to test how autonomous technology can boost Grab's delivery efficiency.

The pilot for Grab's drone delivery (Beta) service began on Tuesday and will run till April 12, with service running every Tuesday to Sunday, between 10am and 6pm.

This pilot is only for internal testing, Grab said, and is not yet open for consumers to try. 

Up to 28 drone deliveries will be made daily, and operations will be halted during wet weather conditions and on public holidays.

A typical round-trip flight takes around eight minutes.

The pilot follows a similar one done in the Philippines in June 2025, where drones were used to transport food between delivery points. 

Geographical constraints

Using drones will help circumvent geographical constraints that slow down deliveries and affect efficiency, said Grab.

The Tanjong Rhu estate was chosen for the pilot because the Kallang River separates homes from the main cluster of eateries, making delivery trips less efficient for riders.

"By introducing drones, we can reduce the effort needed for tricky routes, and get food to hungry customers more efficiently. Delivery-partners benefit too, with more efficient routes and the ability to complete more trips," said Grab.

Delivery riders remain an essential part of the process even with the introduction of drones, Grab reassured.

Riders will bring the food orders from their respective origin points to the designated drone launchpad at Republic Avenue, and will also be involved in the completing delivery after the drone lands at a designated site in Tanjong Rhu. 

"While drones handle the tricky river crossing, delivery-partners provide the human touch that drones can't," said Grab, adding that over 20 delivery riders have already been trained on safe and efficient drone handoffs by ST Engineering.

Little noise impact expected, privacy protected

Grab also highlighted that concerns over noise pollution and customer privacy have been considered while preparing for the pilot.

The drone is expected to operate at "noise levels comparable to a normal conversation", and any potential noise impact is expected to be minimal. 

Additionally, navigation cameras have been approved by the relevant authorities and will not store any footage.

Grab will also be collecting feedback from residents, delivery riders and regulators to see how the pilot can be improved, and whether the drone technology can be expanded to different parts of Singapore.

Speaking to AsiaOne, Diana, a resident at Tanjong Rhu, said she remains unsure about the pilot.

While the drone technology might shorten waiting times, she thinks that there are "too many steps" involved in the process, especially since multiple people are needed to deliver the food to the drop-off point, to operate the drones and to complete the delivery.

Separately, 27-year-old Natasha Lee told AsiaOne that the pilot seems like a good idea, since it addresses the inefficiency in detouring around inaccessible regions while not entirely replacing delivery riders.

While useful, she was also concerned about technical errors that may occur, such as signal losses.

"There needs to be a good emergency safety landing structure in place," the sales manager said.

She also raised the issue of operational costs, saying that it might be too costly to scale the service islandwide.

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dana.leong@asiaone.com