Convenience store chain CU partners with drone developer to help communities

[Courtesy of BGF Retail]

SEOUL -- BGF Retail, the operator of South Korea's largest convenience store chain CU, will adopt drone technology to help communities in case of disasters in cooperation with a domestic drone developer. BGF Retail will create relief goods and use its delivery vehicles as charging stations for drones.

Drones designed for rescue purposes are equipped with various optical equipment such as cameras, radars and thermal imaging sensors. Some drones carry out structural safety checks on hard-to-reach places or help rescuers save shipwrecked victims. In August 2021, drones were used to save two people lost in forested hills in Chungju some 110 kilometers (68 miles) southeast of Seoul.

BGF Retail partnered with Narma operated by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, a state-run space agency, to efficiently support troubled residents in remote and isolated communities. Narma has developed a drone that can travel about 25 miles, about three times longer than that of a regular drone, and carry objects weighing 5 kilograms (11 pounds).

In 2015, BGF Retail established a national disaster relief activity through collaboration with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and a non-governmental organization that supports disaster victims. In the event of a wildfire and heavy rain, BGF Retail provides relief supplies through its nationwide logistics infrastructure.

Kim Joo-heon jhkim123@ajunews.com

Convenience store chain CU partners with drone developer to help communities

Related