A Delivery From The Future:
Transport capabilities and responsibilities of drones have been increasing in number the past few years. Drones have a route that is unaffected by the everyday traffic jams, while also producing zero of the smoke and noise pollution to boot. Drone usage also consumes a lot less fuel for short trips, and maintenance due to accident related incidents far dwarfs that of their land-based delivery truck counterparts. Over the past few years, drone use has been advertised as an option for delivery on pizza places, online stores, and even local groceries. Slowly yet steadily, drones have been taking more and more deliveries away from trucks and motors.
And that’s a good thing, as people can get their packages intact and at a shorter time frame, while also benefitting from a greener surrounding via solar/electric-powered UAVs.
A university campus in Singapore has taken the next possible step in this drone evolution. Partnered with the company Airbus, the campus plans on a drone-centric delivery system for parcels and deliveries in the campus. Linked up by physical stations where drones can launch and land, the university hopes that this can be a common sight in more areas in the next few years.
The idea is that a drone will fly between stations scattered strategically all over the campus, where they can take and deliver packages to each. The stations can also provide as a refueling station for the drones, making the process of delivery and dispatch a continuous process. A drone carrying a package goes to the target station, where it will land on its roof for item transfer. A robotic arm then gets the item from the drone, which then proceeds to put it at a locker meant for the item’s receiver. People can then simply open the locker and get their items, all while drones continue on flying to their destinations.
Flight testing of this drone delivery system has been successful, with the drones being observed to be able of carrying items between 2-4 kilograms each.
