Welcome to the future, everyone. Technology is everywhere it seems, including in the trucking industry. The latest development? Delivery drones. Don’t be surprised if your latest online order is delivered via robot rather than human. These unmanned flying drones are opening the doors for faster and cheaper deliveries all over the United States.
Currently being tested in Ohio and Texas, these drones will soon become the future of deliveries for companies like Amazon, UPS, Wal-Mart, and many more. Amazon, in particular, has caught onto this trend, predicting that using these drones could cut delivery costs to less than $1 per package. More impressively, deliveries could be done in less than 30 minutes, meaning that traditional trucks could make more deliveries faster and cheaper.
Amazon’s drone model can travel up to 50 miles per hour and carry goods that weigh five pounds or less, which accounts for 86 percent of all products sold. The motivation of Amazon to make fast and cheap deliveries has caused the company to push the limits of the technology. Current regulations state that the unmanned aircraft (UAS) must remain in the line of sight of the operator. But, Amazon is pushing to allow the drones to make deliveries as far as 30 miles, meaning that they could launch them from warehouses.
How do drones work?
The current system is comprised of two parts: the drone and the truck. The drone is loaded with the small package, then is launched from the roof of the delivery truck. Next, it rises to cruising altitude, and is steered to a doorstep using GPS technology.
When the drone reaches the doorstep, a remote human pilot uses cameras to monitor the location of the drone, then carefully drops the package within 18 inches off the ground. Once the delivery is complete, the drone makes its way back to the truck’s new location using infrared tracking to navigate.
What’s the big deal?
These drones are built to be able to make deliveries through rain, snow, and wind—their only challenge being to land back on the truck on a particularly windy day. Their weather-resistance isn’t the only feature that makes these robots so attractive to delivery companies. German company, DHL, used these drones to deliver supplies and medicines to small, remote villages that are hard to reach via traditional truck. Now, people have access to important, life-saving supplies that were previously unavailable to them.
With their convenience, low costs, and speed, these drones have introduced an entirely new way to keep the world connected. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) even predicts that the addition of these drones could create more than 100,000 jobs and generate $82 billion for the U.S. economy in the next decade. Designers are still adjusting models to improve battery power and ensure the drones are able to fly incident-free. Once their designed is perfected, they will take to the skies all over the world.
How will drones affect the trucking industry?
On one hand, delivery drones are making truckers’ jobs easier. If a trucker has to make four deliveries, for example, and three are to the right, but one is to the left, he can save time by sending the drone to the inconvenient stop. By allowing the drones to make out-of-the-way deliveries, truckers are able to reduce their mileage and make more deliveries faster.
On the other hand, advancing drone technology means less of a need for truckers. Amazon’s attempts to make the drones travel faster and farther makes the drones more independent, reducing the number of trucks needed to bring the drones to a specific location before they launch.
Like smartphones, laptops, and electric cars, however, drones require energy to work. Because of their size and limited power capacity, their endurance doesn’t compare to that of a traditional delivery truck. Likewise, while they are able to fly through snowy conditions, they cannot combat harsh winter weather conditions that block access to front doors and driveways in the northern regions of the U.S. and make package delivery difficult. There’s just something about a human delivery man that a drone can’t compete with!
Drones aren’t the only thing bringing convenience to the trucking industry. Freight factoring provides fast, easy money so you can keep up with your own deliveries and make more!
