How unmanned remote-controlled aircrafts will shape freight services

The first practical use of drones was introduced by the military, but the history of the idea dates as far back as 1915, which Nikola Tesla described a fleet of unmanned aerial combat vehicles. Having 100 years to develop from fantastic idea to a virtual reality, we now find ourselves at the precipice of these aircraft being designed and operated for commercial applications.  One of those applications will be commercial delivery services. 

In early December of 2013, Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos, appeared on 60 minutes to discuss the trajectory of a program called “Prime Air”. This program is testing the usage of the drone technology called Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS’s), to deliver small packages to the customer’s door within a maximum of 30 minutes after someone presses the “buy” button on the retail giant’s website.  Development is expected to take at least three or four years, but once up and running, the use of drones will begin to revolutionize the logistics industry in ways we can only begin to imagine.

From NPR’s blog –
The Federal Aviation Administration recently unveiled the names of the six applicants who have been granted the right to test the commercial uses of UAS’s.
The FAA's approvals were highly sought after because the test sites are expected to bring high-tech jobs and investments to the states where they're located. The six winners are:
— The University of Alaska, which the FAA says proposed "a diverse set of test site range locations in seven climatic zones as well as geographic diversity with test site range locations in Hawaii and Oregon."
— The State of Nevada, which has pledged it will take "a concentrated look at how air traffic control procedures will evolve with the introduction of UAS into the civil environment."
— North Dakota, which offered the only test range "in the temperate (continental) climate zone and included a variety of different airspace which will benefit multiple users."
— Texas A&M Corpus Christi, where researchers plan "to develop system safety requirements for UAS vehicles and operations with a goal of protocols and procedures for airworthiness testing."
— Virginia Tech University, which will test and evaluate operational risks at sites in Virginia and New Jersey.
— Griffiss International Airport in central New York State, where part of the focus will be "researching the complexities of integrating UAS into the congested, northeast airspace."                                                                

As it stands right now, freight services provided by UAS’s has not made it to the “pipe dream” tab of the “fantasy tech” file folder on any of the elite freight forwarder’s computers. However, this idea will become a reality sooner, rather than later. If Amazon and others can perfect a courier system for delivering small packages by UAS’s and clear away whatever obstacles may appear along the way, it is only a matter of time before larger UAS’s will be designed and developed for carrying  and delivering heavier cargo.

With enough time, imagination, and investment we may even see technology in our industry advance to the point where we are using UAS’s replete with enough artificial intelligence to go to, and then from the shipping warehouse to the destination with little to no interference by humans beyond loading and unloading cargo and punching in a pick-up and delivery address into billing software.  As the technology advances, so will the capabilities of the aircraft and the logistics industry will certainly have to adapt to those changes.

Allyn Logistics has over 20 years of expertise helping customer analyze performance and define goals.  We can help you too!  AllynLogisticsConsulting@allynintl.com