UAV Equipped Delivery Trucks: Why Dogs Will No Longer Be Able to Bite the Mailman
UAV Equipped Delivery Trucks: Why Dogs Will No Longer Be Able to Bite the Mailman Unmanned Cargo Delivery Concept – Chronicle 15 Source: Amazon and Google aren’t the only ones with a delivery drone (July 28, 2015) (Editor’s Note: Full cartoon can be found at anewdomain.net. Also, a new delivery drone humor section is coming soon, stay tuned!) [UPDATE: New concept video can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epqZ-IuhzKQ] What the Article Chronicles: Yard dogs hankering for a taste of the local mailman’s / delivery man’s tender calves are plain out of luck. AMP Holding Inc. (in cooperation with the University of Cincinnati) has developed an unmanned, wirelessly recharging octocopter that can attach itself to the top of a delivery truck and autonomously deliver packages thereby foiling those hungry pooches’ plans. Called the HorseFly (as pun to the fact that its “base” is AMP’s WorkHorse electric delivery vehicle), the overall concept combines autonomous and manual control. Once a specific address is determined as best suited for drone delivery, the driver hands over the package via a rooftop access hatch. The HorseFly then scans the barcode on the package, determines the best flight path based on its current GPS coordinates and then flies itself off to the delivery location. However, once it gets close to the drop off point, a certified drone operator will remotely take over control and guide the drone around unpredictable urban obstacles in order to safely release the package. Once delivery is complete, the HorseFly resumes autonomous flight back to its delivery truck where it can wirelessly recharge. By using the WorkHorse electric delivery truck as both landing pad and...
Amazon’s Drone Highway – Organizing the Drone Friendly Skies
Package Delivery Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Highway Concept Proposed by Amazon Unmanned Cargo Delivery Concept – Chronicle 13 Amazon Proposes Drone Highway as It Readies for Flying Package Delivery (July 28, 2015) (Editor’s Note: This article kicks off a 3 post series look at the latest concepts for managing the increasing number of drones vying for precious limited airspace in the future.) What Article Chronicles: Amazon has recently published a pair of whitepapers (Paper 1 / Paper 2) describing their proposed approach for determining safe and efficient airspace access and integration for low-altitude, small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). To fully reap the benefits of commercial drone systems in civil airspace, and in order to avoid potentially lethal chaos as per the recent example of a Southern California 3,500 acre wildfire where helicopter firefighting operations were temporarily stopped for 26 minutes due to the interfering presence of five civilian-operated drones, dedicated “air lanes” and air traffic control systems will be key to avoiding a bleak dystopian “delivery drones blocking out the sun” future outlook. Amazon’s concept focuses on a “segregated airspace” below 500 feet (152 meters). Airspace above this height is where most civil and military aviation activities takes place. Amazon suggests the following four segregated areas: Below 200 feet (61 meters) a “Low-Speed, Localized Traffic” area reserved for “(1) terminal non-transit operations such as surveying, videography and inspection, and (2) operations for lesser-equipped vehicles, e.g. ones without sophisticated sense-and-avoid (SAA) technology”. Potentially, this area would also be the airspace where Amazon Prime Air drones would complete the final stages of their parcel deliveries, landing near homes to drop off Amazon packages. Between...
Four day Experiment of e-Commerce Delivery Drones in Finland
Four day Experiment of e-Commerce Delivery Drones in Finland Unmanned Cargo Delivery Concept – Chronicle 12 Posti, Sharper Shape and Verkkokauppa Experiment with Robotic Helicopters in e-Commerce Deliveries (September 2, 2015) (Editor’s Note: A nice video can be found at the link above.) What the Article Chronicles: From September 2 to September 5, Posti (a Finnish postal, logistics and e-commerce services company) will be testing the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) /delivery drones for the first time in Finland in what might also be considered the first European trial in an inhabited urban environment. Flights will depart from the observation deck of the Verkkokauppa.com store at Jätkäsaari up to 3x per day. The drone will fly beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) of its operator however a special landing site has been cleared at the island of Suomenlinna. Official UAV / Drone Name: Next Eagle UAV from Sharper Shape Ltd. Basic UAV/ Drone Description: Robotic helicopter or Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) based on a laser-based observation system to prevent collisions and maximize safety. Payload: Only parcels under 3 kg (6.6 lb) from Verkkokauppa.com (a very popular online store in Finland). Range: A 4 kilometer (2.5 mile) route between the island of Suomenlinna (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) and Helsinki in the Finnish mainland. Speed: Not specified, however the original Finnish article (http://www.posti.fi/lennot/) does mention the trip will only take 10 minutes. Thus, assuming the 4 kilometer (2.5 mile) route is only one way, this would mean flight speed is 24 km/hr (15 mph). Companies Involved: Posti Group Sharper Shape Ltd. What are your thoughts on this Finnish eCommerce Delivery Drone...
Getting the Par-TEA Started: Alibaba Tests Parcel Delivery Drones in China
Alibaba’s Taobao tested delivering ginger tea bags via drone Unmanned Cargo Delivery Concept – Chronicle 11 Drones are delivering ginger tea in China (February 04, 2015) (Editor’s Note: Limited pilot drone delivery program to help Alibaba market its e-commerce ecosystem.) What the Article Chronicles: In February 2015, Alibaba’s online marketplace, Taobao, partnered up with YTO Express to run a real world test in Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai, allowing 450 people (on a first-come-first-served basis) to order ginger tea and receive it via UAV in less than an hour. For only 49 renimbi (US$ 7.84), those lucky enough to be able to participate in the pilot project were able to have a “unique and innovative shopping experience”. Destinations and routes were pre-set by staff upon receipt of order thus allowing the five quadcopters forming the trial delivery fleet to automatically deliver their payload. However, the tea deliveries were not performed directly to the customers’ doors, rather the parcel drones landed in pre-designated landing areas near residential areas similarly to S.F. Express’ concept given that delivery needed to be confirmed by signature. Unfortunately, there are no further plans to expand this concept. Link to the promotional Alibaba video can be found here or here. Official UAV / Drone Name: Not specified however it most likely was the YTO X650. Basic UAV/ Drone Description: Quadcopter Payload: Up to 1 kilogram (2.2 lb) however the ginger tea packages delivered were limited to a maximum of 340 grams (12 oz). Range: Maximum of 10 km (6.2 miles) Speed: Not specified. Companies Involved: Alibaba YTO Express What are your thoughts on the use of unmanned tea delivery drones in China? Comment below!...
500 Drone Deliveries a Day – Drone Delivery Services Booming in China
S.F. Express Planning to Perform 1,000 Courier-to-Courier Drone Deliveries Per Day Unmanned Cargo Delivery Concept – Chronicle 10 原来如此 顺丰无人机物流细节首次公布 “Shun Feng non-pilot plane logistic details is published for the first time” (February 16, 2015) (Editor’s Note: Original article posted in Chinese. Google Translate as well as related articles from the DailyMail.com and DiscoverMagazine.com were used to compile this unmanned cargo chronicle.) What Article Chronicles: S.F. Express, in partnership with XAircraft, began experimenting with drone deliveries in Dongguan, China back in 2013. Today, the Shenzhen-based company performs approximately 500 drone deliveries a day and has plans to expand its area of services to seven regions while at the same time doubling the number of daily packages it delivers. What sets these drone deliveries apart is that they are made between couriers and not directly to end-consumers as envisioned by Amazon, Swiss Post or Matternet. Packages are still delivered by couriers to the customer’s front door. What the S.F. Express low-altitude logistics concept does is replace the trucks that are typically used in the intermediate shipments. Goods are first loaded onto the drone by a courier at the point of origin (e.g. distribution warehouse) and the package is scanned to confirm the delivery address. The UAV then automatically flies to its destination. A message is sent alerting the receiving courier to clear the designated landing area. When the drone arrives, the parcel is scanned once again and unloaded from the drone. The UAV then returns to its base automatically. In China, commercial drone use is legal, nevertheless the work is carried out in close cooperation with the Civil Aviation Regulatory Authority as S.F. Express plans to expand its...Featured Posts
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