Delivery Drones are on the way, here are 5 of the first

UPS starts testing delivery via drone. UPS is testing their drone delivery system (Photo via UPS)

Many companies have an interest in integrating delivery drones into their services. UPS is the next in line and is keeping ahead of the competition. Rather than investing in flying drones, the company is testing a system that will drop packages at your doorstep while the driver moves on to the next house. UPS hopes this new system will speed up the delivery process. Having the driver walk from the truck to the house and back to the truck isn’t all that efficient. It could also save them money in the long run – about $50 million per year.

The new system works with specially designed trucks that house a swarm of UAVs. How it works is the driver puts the package in the delivery drone’s carrying cage and launches via the van’s retractable roof. From there, the drone flies up to the location, deliver the package, and returns to the van. The driver doesn’t even have to wait for the drone to return to the track making the whole process speedier. Don’t worry, UPS assures that their drivers are still key. They don’t want to replace them; they just want to make the delivery process smoother and quicker.

Ireland’s Pony Express test its first drone delivery. The Pony Express successfully made its first drone delivery (Photo via Pony Express)

We’ve been hearing about delivery drone for the last few years, but thanks to the Pony Express we now have an official drone delivery. The Pony Express in Dublin recently made the first courier delivery by drone. Carrying a half-pound waterproof container of medical supplies, like an emergency blanket and Epi-pen, the trip took at total two minutes. The drone traveled from the Dublin port of Dun Laoghaire to a vessel 200 meters away.

Even though the test was a success, the company has doubts about drone delivery. While they think it’ll be useful for emergency items, especially in rural areas, they don’t see it being used for major deliveries. Pony Express operations manager Audrey Browne thinks the risk of an important item getting lost, stolen, or damaged runs high when drones are involved. They’re better off in the hands of a courier. The company plans to look further into drone delivery, so don’t expect to see them in the skies anytime soon.

Introducing the drone that rots away once it hits the ground. This biodegradable drone is perfect for emergency situations (Photo via Wired)

Robotics company Otherlab approaches drones in a different way with their latest design. Rather than building a bot out of traditional materials, the company created a drone made entirely out of cardboard. The device looks like a little plane wing and houses the item for delivery. It only carries about two pounds of cargo, but since it’s made from cardboard, it decomposes once the delivery is done. Otherlab took on the challenge as part of Darpa’s contest to create a single use delivery vehicle that disappears once it hits the ground. With funding from Darpa, the team created the Apsara, a three-foot wide drone out of laser-cut sheets of cardboard that take roughly an hour to fold and tape together.

For a challenge like this, cardboard makes the most sense since its cheap, lightweight, and can decompose within months. But for the final design, the team have something different in mind. They want to incorporate a mushroom-based material called mycelium, which decomposes in days rather than months. Once they have that figure out, they’ll work on how to make the drone’s electronics disappear.

Amazon drones may drop packages with little parachutes. The approved patent for Amazon’s new delivery drone (Photo via Amazon)

Amazon is at the forefront of the drone delivery race. For years they’ve tested the best way to safely deliver packages from drones. Turns out the best way may not find the bots landing in your yard. Rather, it may be your package falling from the sky. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office recently granted Amazon a patent for a method that safely guides packages dropped by drones to the ground. So instead of crashing landing in your yard, as we’ve seen in test videos, the packages would fall into the proper place, possibly with help from a parachute.

Keeping the drones high in the sky is a safer option making sure the bot doesn’t collide with people, animals, or objects in the yard. It may also prevent any attempt to steal the drone, though seeing a package fall the sky may tempt people to steal that instead. The company is considering using magnets, parachutes, or spring coils to release the delivery mid-flight. From there, the drone would monitor the package making sure it reached its destination safely.  But drone delivery isn’t coming to the States anytime soon. Automated flying drones without human supervision is illegal. Maybe it’s better to wait around for UPS.

Delivery drone startup scores $17 million in funding for autonomous delivery bots. Starship’s delivery drone successfully reaches its destination (Photo via Starship)

While drone delivery is still trying to make headway in the States, one startup is close to keeping their word on autonomous deliveries. Starship Technologies managed to raise $17.2 million in funding to release their rolling delivery drones to 10 new cities. Rather than zooming through the air, these knee high bots actually roll through on sidewalks and roads. The bots check in to a neighborhood that then dispatches them to homes within a three-mile radius at one dollar per trip.

To make sure its contents remain safe, it uses a GPS tracking system along with unlock codes via a companion app. Those expecting a package have to be home and will get a text message when the bot rolls up. The method isn’t ideal for everything, rather the company believes it will be better for small deliveries from supermarkets, laundromats, and other business that sell small goods. The drones are already active in Redwood City, CA. Unfortunately, these bots bring on their own problems like privacy issues since they have to use high tech cameras for tracking and sidewalk crowding. Since they will use public sidewalks local or state regulators may have to step in if things get a bit too crowded.

FedEx latest investment involves drones and autonomous trucks. You may be seeing driverless FedEx trucks in the near future (Photo via FedEx)

Amazon is not the only delivery giant looking to speed up service with robots. FedEx wants to get in on it too. The company is currently investing in drones and small autonomous vehicles. The idea is to have these cars drive around neighborhoods and drop off packages without a human driver. According to Rob Carter, FedEx’s chief information officer, the company is “very much interested in” completely autonomous trucks. To start working towards this goal, they’ve partnered with various automakers that specialize in this technology, like Daimler and Volvo.

FedEx also wants to use drone delivery, but not to the same extent as Amazon and UPS. Though Carter has a large interest in drones, he finds their ability for delivering packages as limited – they don’t have the capacity to lift heavy objects. Then there’s the issue of getting drone delivery approved in cities; many are worried about theft and injuries caused by drones themselves. It seems like they won’t be investing in flying drones any time soon. At this point, FedEx is interested in rolling bots.

What do you think about drone delivery? Are you excited to have you packages delivered this way or do you prefer the old fashion way?

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