Introduction
Mankind is making discoveries in medicine, services, and so on. Unmanned delivery is happening thanks to drones – unmanned aerial vehicles. The advantage of drone delivery is the ability to deliver goods without developed transport infrastructure or mountainous or boggy terrain. Also, drone delivery is not affected by traffic jams. The disadvantages of drone delivery include low payload capacity, limitations on autonomous operation time, and insecurity for the public in case the drone gets out of control. It is important to consider that many large companies in developed countries, such as the UAE and the U.S., are beginning to make a smooth transition to drone delivery.
History of Drone Delivery
The beginning of drone delivery can be considered in 2013, as at that time Amazon announced the launch of its Amazon Prime Air service (Khalil, 2022). The company announced that goods would be delivered to customers within 30 minutes, four times faster than the fastest delivery method, Amazon Prime Now. The company made several dozen unmanned deliveries in 2013, and the service officially launched in 2016 (Khalil, 2022). Among the current services, in addition to Amazon, is Zipline, which delivers blood samples and medications to communities.
Benefits of Drone Delivery
Perhaps drone delivery can stop environmental disasters from developing. Drones run on electric batteries, and it is possible to recycle them into new ones. Drones do not emit exhaust fumes into the environment, unlike cars. As mentioned earlier, Amazon has stated that delivery by drone is faster than by car because there is nothing in the way of a drone in the sky. In this case, a significant reduction in the load on car traffic can be mentioned. Companies’ decision to switch to this type of delivery will also reduce their costs for cars and their maintenance.
With all the advantages of drone delivery, it is also necessary to mention the possible problems and situations that negatively affect this type of delivery. Changes in the weather, such as rain, snowfall, or thunderstorms, will significantly reduce the speed of delivery or even make it impossible (Khail, 2022). Privacy remains an issue, as drones use a GPS tracker to navigate accurately to their destination and a webcam to avoid obstacles during flight. Another major problem with drones is the failure of the battery from which they operate. If the battery fails during delivery, the drone will shut down and fly down on people. In addition to losing the package, this also puts ordinary citizens in danger.
Future Development
As mentioned earlier, many countries are interested in the concept of drone delivery. One of them is the UAE, which 2017 began working on drone delivery services for food, medicine, and other goods. Universe Technologies of the UAE and Skycart of the U.S. are working on the Space Autonomous Drones project (Khalil, 2022). The UAE government is also planning to launch a service to deliver identity cards, driver’s licenses, and other documents by drone. In 2021, Dubai authorities unveiled drones designed to patrol streets, track suspects, and record offenses.
Conclusion
Drone delivery is the greenest and fastest delivery method today. With drones, many companies can save a lot of money, customers will receive their goods faster, and delivery to hard-to-reach regions will become affordable. The problem with this method is the imperfection of drones, which are affected by weather conditions and a possible drop in battery power. Soon major countries such as the UAE will include drone delivery in even more services, and the world will be able to see how convenient and cost-effective this type of delivery is by their example.
Reference
Khail, E. (20222). UAE plans to deliver IDs, driving licences through drones. Www.gulftoday.ae.