Delivery Drones: The Future of Shopping

What are Delivery Drones?

Figure 1 - Flying drone with camera attached. Reprinted from Ref [1].

Delivery drones are essentially drones used to transport goods from producers to consumers: they can carry anything from groceries to your latest technology. They are not currently in use, however there is much speculation about them being released in the future, especially since many large companies (such as Amazon) are already working on them. The main reason behind the development of these drones is the want to reduce delivery times. These drones can either be completely automated and fly without constant monitoring, or can be remotely controlled [2]. The predecessor to today’s modernised general drones is based on the original prototype made, designed, and built in 1483 by Leonardo Da Vinci, commonly described as a “forerunner of today’s helicopters” [2]. It has been widely accepted that without the invention of drones, many technologies would have been lost to our world and future generations.

Current Uses

Previously, drones were mainly used for military purposes, but that all changed after the Federal Aviation Administration promulgated the first permits for “commercial drones” in 2006 [2]. This then led to the slow but steady rise in the usage of drones in many industries, such as photography. The impact has been huge on the film industry in particular, making appearances in nature documentaries, as well as the majority of action films. In fact, the use of drones in filmmaking is so extensive, it has led to a New York City drone film festival, which is used to “demonstrate the artistic feats that can be achieved with these unmanned aircrafts” [3]. However, it wasn’t long before people and transnational corporations began to realise the full extent to which drones can be used in business. For example, drones played an essential part in combating the COVID-19 pandemic: they were used across the UK to carry test kits to remote areas such as the Scottish Isles, while still remaining socially distant [4]. It is hoped that this endeavour would “bring permanent drone medical flights a step closer” by Duncan Walker, Sky Sports Chief Executive, who also claimed that using drones in this way created “significant time and cost savings” [4]. 

Future Uses

There  are many transnational corporations who have begun to realise the incentive of using drones in business, such as UPS and Amazon. Amazon is a popular technology company, which is hoping to unveil its new drone reliant feature called “Prime Air” [5]. Prime Air will deliver packages and orders within 30 minutes or less, and hopes to unveil this new feature “within months” [5-7]. There has been lots of positive feedback in regards to this and Amazon has already been granted a permit from the US Federal Aviation Administration [6]. By introducing delivery drones to the wider world there will be many wider impacts, such as declines in the use of trucks/lorries for deliveries, especially if drones become more adapted to longer distance deliveries. This could lead to lower carbon emissions in the atmosphere, which is healthier for the environment. Furthermore, deliveries from drones would be much cheaper compared to human deliveries for both the producer and therefore the consumer. This is exemplified by UPS’ claims that their human-drone partnership will save them an estimated £37 million a year [7].

Problems Associated with Drones

However, there are some issues associated with the use of drones. For example, some people are worried about risks to personal privacy due to the drones being equipped with cameras and GPS systems. A survey conducted by Pew Research found that 54% of Americans do not think “drones should be able to fly” near their homes [8]. Environmentalists are also concerned with the recyclability of old or damaged drone parts, as well as whether the drones are going to be powered by renewable resources such as wind and solar power, or fossil fuels. There are also challenges for the companies using the drones, such as worries that people may want to target the expensive drones, in order to damage or steal the contents [9]. This would result in companies needing to pay extra for further security on the drones or repairs for damaged drones.

Conclusion

Delivery drones have many positive uses, but there are also many challenges that need to be overcome before they become a staple in everyday life. One way in which they link with the Sustainable Development Goals is SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure [10]. By introducing delivery drones, it will have a major impact on the delivery industry and will result in a reduced demand for delivery drivers and truck companies such as Eddie Stobart. It will close up one area of work for low skilled workers, and may lead to a rise in unemployment rates. However, delivery drones will lead to a short term increase in the demand for jobs such as engineers and IT specialists in order to design and solve the challenges that drones currently face. This links positively to SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth, as the IT specialists and designers may also be needed in the long term for activities, for example, to patch bugs and improve the current models of drones [10]. This could further promote STEM related jobs, as well as the economic growth of the country.

To conclude, drones are a very controversial piece of innovation that can greatly impact the way we shop, by both reducing delivery prices for producers, and resulting in lower prices and quicker delivery times for consumers.    

References

[1] Pexels, “Drone,” Pixabay, November 29, 2016. [Online]. Available: https://pixabay.com/photos/drone-flying-camera-remote-control-1866742/. [Accessed 22 July 2021].

[2]  M. Poljak, “The History Of Drones (History Timeline From 1483 to 2020),” Drone Tech Planet, n.d. [Online]. Available: https://www.dronetechplanet.com/the-history-of-drones-history-timeline-from-1483-to-2020/. [Accessed 29 March, 2021].

[3] Anon, “How And When Did Drones Become So Popular?,” Dronesvilla, November 12, 2019. [Online]. Available: https://dronesvilla.com/when-did-drones-get-popular/. [Accessed 30 March 2021].

[4] DroneAdmin, “Filming using drones,” Drone Trends, May 31, 2021. [Online]. Available: https://dronetrends.org/filming-using-drones/. [Accessed 27 June 2021].

[5]  Anon, “Covid in Scotland: Drones to carry covid samples,” BBC News, February 23, 2021. [Online]. Available: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-56154503. [Accessed 30 March 2021].

[6]  Anon, “Amazon Prime Air,” Amazon, n.d. [Online]. Available: https://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Prime-Air/b?node=8037720011. [Accessed 30 March 2021]. 

[7]  D. Lee, “Amazon to deliver by drone ‘within months’,” BBC News, June 5, 2019. [Online]. Available: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-48536319. [Accessed 30 March 2021].

[8] S. Dutfield, “Delivery Drones: How next-gen mail-bots will deliver in record time,” How It Works, January 24, 2019. [Online]. Available: https://www.howitworksdaily.com/delivery-drones/. [Accessed 27 June 2021].

[9] P. Hitlin, “How Americans feel about drones and ways to use them,” Pew Research Center, December 19, 2017. [Online]. Available: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/12/19/8-of-americans-say-they-own-a-drone-while-more-than-half-have-seen-one-in-operation/. [Accessed 27 June 2021].

[10] A. Sharma, “How Future Delivery Drones Will Deliver Your Packages,” Jungleworks, June 20, 2019. [Online]. Available: https://jungleworks.com/how-future-delivery-drone-will-deliver-your-packages/. Accessed [27 June 2021].

[11] Anon, “The 17 Goals,” United Nations, n.d. [Online]. Available: https://sdgs.un.org/goals. [Accessed 2 April 2021].