for its new drone delivery airline late last
year, and expects to start rolling out the new
technology in 2020. The company estimates it
will save $50 million in costs for its 66,000 daily
delivery drivers.
Aside from speed and cost-cutting, drone
technology for deliveries will ideally help
to lower the environmental impact of each
delivery. On average, a truck delivery of a
small package costs 1kg of greenhouse gas
emissions. By supplementing their road
haulage with all-new electric-powered drones,
delivery companies could reduce their energy
use and greenhouse gas emissions, creating
greener distribution networks that consumers
will want to pay for.
But before drone delivery services become
mainstream, there are a few kinks to iron out.
First of all, airspace governance; there are many
areas where drones are off-limits, which makes
drones an impractical logistics solution right
now; battery life is also an issue, as drones can
only travel for so long, though solar-powered
drones are being developed to combat
this issue.
And there’s also the issue of speed; at the
moment, drones can only make one delivery at
a time, returning to a depot or hub every time
they drop off a package to collect the next one.
The technology developed by UPS is a step in
the right direction, creating “hubs” on wheels,
though until testing has been carried out and
full regulatory approval granted, we won’t
know for certain whether they hold the key to
scalable, cost-effective drone home deliveries.