All That’s Needed for Drone-Based Logistics to Take Off

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Advanced air mobility (AAM) refers to the next generation of aviation systems and services that aim to transform the way people and goods are transported. AAM encompasses various emerging technologies, including electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL), unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), and air traffic management systems (UTM) and mobility infrastructure.

The primary goal of AAM is to provide safe, efficient and sustainable advanced aerial vehicles that overcome traditional limitations of ground transportation. AAM envisions a future in which aerial vehicles play a significant role in urban transportation, offering reduced congestion, faster travel times and enhanced accessibility to remote or underserved areas. Amazon, Google’s Wing, FedEx and Walmart are actively exploring and developing drone-based delivery systems to enhance their logistics operations and give customers new delivery options.

AAM is still in its early development stages: various technical, regulatory and infrastructure challenges need to be addressed for widespread implementation to occur.

The cargo-delivery aspect of AAM is worthy of an in-depth look. So, let’s delve into how to achieve drone-delivery operations at scale.

Federal regulations

In the U.S., the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is responsible for regulating all aspects of civil aviation. Its primary objective is to manage safe and efficient use of the national airspace (NAS). The recreational and commercial use of drones fall under the umbrella of civil aviation. The challenge for the FAA is to safely integrate drones into the NAS due to a plethora of unique use cases for drones that would benefit society.

The FAA must find balance between safety, privacy and security for the public—while allowing the UAS industry to operate at scale. As of today, the FAA represents the largest constraint on the growth of the entire ecosystem, including both supply and demand.

In 2016, the FAA issued Part 107 of Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR Part 107). It set forth requirements for routine operation of small, unmanned aircraft (UA) in the NAS. UASes are permitted to fly at or below 400 feet in Class G airspace, while operating within visual line-of-sight (VLOS).

To truly benefit from the economies of scale associated with UASes, the FAA must create a new regulatory framework to support beyond visual line of sight operations (BVLOS). The beginnings of these new regulations are likely to be codified as part of ‘14 CFR Part 108’ in 2024. Until then, deliveries beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) over overpopulated areas generally would be possible only with specific waivers from the FAA.

Infrastructure and services

Emerging, mid-range UASes designed to perform BVLOS deliveries are typically large, with a 4-to-20-foot wingspan and present a diverse set of operational capabilities. Therefore, careful consideration of various infrastructure resources and activities is necessary to launch and manage logistics operations safely and efficiently. Infrastructure elements of critical importance include drone terminals, communication networks, ground control stations and airspace management systems.

Terminal infrastructureOrigin and destination locations for UAS flights are defined as terminals, which allow a hub-and-spoke model to streamline logistics operations. They are designated areas or facilities where these aircrafts receive support services. A terminal may comprise multiple stations, where each station may be specially designed to provide services like cargo handling, cargo storage, short-term and long-term drone parking, and fueling and recharging. Several startups, including EVA, Strix Drones and AeriaLoop, are building and deploying service stations in the Americas. Some stations are even certified to offer maintenance and repair services to ensure that UASes stay in optimal condition.

Communication infrastructure

The ability to receive telemetry data from ground control stations is critical for improving operational efficiency and resource utilization. While existing 5G, Wi-Fi and satellite communication systems can be utilized in UAS operations, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) proposed new rules last January to create a dedicated licensed radio spectrum in the 5 GHz band for UASes.

A communication infrastructure should be able to deal with both cooperative and non-cooperative systems—and provide situational awareness.

This refers to a pilot’s real-time understanding of the environment a UAS is flying in, including the airspace, weather conditions and other relevant factors. Because a person is not physically on-board the UAS, it requires a digital system to provide a remote pilot a continuous feed of information to ensure the UAS arrives safely at its destination. This is known as an unmanned traffic management (UTM) system. A UTM is a digital system designed to manage safe and efficient operations of UAS, in the low-altitude airspace. An infrastructure is a critical component for the drone industry to achieve any type of scale while ensuring safe operations.

In the case of cooperative flying objects, ground-control stations communicate with equipment on-board an aircraft to determine its position, speed and direction—and increase situational awareness by broadcasting messages for other aircraft within its proximity.

In the case of a non-cooperative flying object, situational awareness is achieved using computer vision and AI-based sensing technologies at ground-control stations to detect such objects, which might potentially interfere with and increase the safety risk for UASes.

Automation and data analytics

Leveraging automation technologies helps to streamline logistics activities and reduces the need for human-in-the-loop. UASes need to be dispatched based on specific cargo requirements, calendar availability, forecast of future orders, flight endurance, and potential service needs and service availability along an assigned route.

Robust optimization and machine learning algorithms can be exploited to achieve optimum dispatching. Vertical cargo retrieval and storage systems at terminals with autonomous cargo loading and unloading capabilities would improve operational efficiency and help increase throughput. Automation is pivotal to achieving economies of scale.

Opening a world of opportunity

The UAS industry has been progressing at a rapid pace while constantly introducing new capabilities, features and use cases.

Achieving economies of scale in UAS-based logistics requires careful planning, integration of a multitude of technologies, collaboration with relevant stakeholders and, most importantly, a software platform with a holistic approach to managing essential resources for cargo delivery.

The need for such an end-to-end software platform has never been greater. It would open a pathway to accelerate UAS-based cargo delivery at scale.

—Zafer Sahinoglu is VP and GM of Mitsubishi Electric Innovation Center (MELIC).