Package delivery company United Parcel Service tested home delivery by drone in Lithia, Florida, on Monday, the first step in what the company hopes will be a move toward more automated delivery. A drone launched from a UPS car roof, flew autonomously toward its destination, dropped a package and then returned to the vehicle, as the driver separately continued on a delivery route. The Tampa-area test, which UPS said went as expected, came less than a month after UPS said it would push forward investment in automation and technology as the company, along with rival FedEx Corp, struggles with slimmer margins from e-commerce business. The system is aimed at rural routes where deliveries are spread out over a large location. It allows drivers to simply pass close to the final delivery destination on a preprogrammed route.

A drone launched from a UPS car roof, flew autonomously toward its destination, dropped a package and then returned to the vehicle, as the driver separately continued on a delivery route. The Tampa-area test, which UPS said went as expected, came less than a month after UPS said it would push forward investment in automation and technology as the company, along with rival FedEx Corp. (FDX), struggles with slimmer margins from e-commerce business.

A UPS drone as it takes a three-mile test flight over open ocean outside of Boston. The test was one of a series of tests to show unmanned aerial vehicles can safely be used for deliveries in the United States. The drone was built by CyPhy, a Danvers, Mass.-based drone and technology company. A UPS drone took a three mile trip over open ocean outside of Salem, Mass. The test was meant to simulate delivery of urgently needed medicine from Beverly, Mass. to Children's Island, which is home to a YMCA day camp.