Orkney's Royal Mail deliveries by drone are something to get excited about – Scotsman comment

Orkney’s ‘open-mindedness’ to new technology should be embraced by us all

Orkney's claim to be a hotspot of new technology just got more than a little bit stronger. As we reported last week, the islands have the second-highest percentage of electric cars in the UK. And now a new drone postal service has been set up to fly letters and parcels from Stromness to the islands of Graemsay and Hoy.

The drones deliver their cargo – normally carried by a boat or small plane – to postal workers who then carry out their usual deliveries, so members of the public won’t actually find themselves confronted by a squadron of parcel-laden whirring devices on their doorstep on birthdays and so on. Some may fear, if such schemes become commonplace, that this will mean the arrival of the robot apocalypse will see the Terminator, Hal 9000 and co accompanied by air support.

However, we prefer to embrace the Orkney spirit. Charlie Alway, Royal Mail customer operations manager for Stromness, said: "I have been on Orkney for 20 years now and there’s definitely an open-mindedness from people here about new technology.” The future should always be something to get excited about.