Usman 1

Mubaraq Usman

Instructor: Malcolm Campbell

UWRT 1104

30 March 2019

Up, Up and Delivered

Introduction

Imagine ordering a phone case or charger, and rather than it arriving the next day or so, it

arrives in as little as 15 minutes. Imagine having to ordering a last minute gift for a friend’s Commented [1]: Good hook!

birthday, and instead of it arriving after their birthdate, it arrives 15 minutes from the moment

you remembered it was their birthday. Sounds a lot more science fiction than reality, yet it has

become a part of reality and is soon to become a part of yours too. When can we expect it? It is

already happening.

With just a click of a button, we are able to order an item online. The moment that order is

placed we hunt down the tracking number and are left to impatiently wait for it to arrive. Having

to wait days, weeks or even months to get something we order so easily with just a click of a

button. That is soon to change. With consumers craving for instant deliveries, companies, and

business are on the verge of fulfilling those cravings. Rather than investing in piling on more

trucks and planes to speed the delivery process, retailers have turned to drones to up the ante.

Overview

Drone delivery is a faster, cheaper and more cost-efficient way to speed the delivery

process. Often known as a UAV, delivery drones are an autonomous vehicle used to deliver

lightweight packages. They are regularly operated remotely, allowing operators to oversee

multiple drones at once. All over the world, drones are being used to capture live events, survey
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dangerous areas, keep an eye on wildlife, and shoot commercials. The idea of having packages

delivered by drones came to light in 2013. Fast forward six years later and delivery drones are Commented [2]: What other capabilities could they
have? Medicine, police use, agriculture, maybe even
replace storks to deliver babies?
yet to have taken off. What are the limitations when it comes to delivery drones?

Limitations

Delivery drones are quite an expensive device. The average drone cost per device ranges

between $500 to $1,000. There are smaller drones within a price range of $50 but with the major

companies involved, the expensive path (being more reliable) is the only way to go. On top of

that, comes irregular and/or unpredictable events. According to an article, “Drone Delivery: How

Will It Affect Your Community?”, published by Fehr and Peers, things “such as weather,

wildlife or vandalism/sabotage, could bring down a drone during a delivery, which could

potentially become a safety hazard for those on the ground.” Drones have the possibility of

getting stolen. Once a drone gets disconnected from its power supply, the company will no

longer have the ability to control or track it. Consequently, leading to a loss in logistics Commented [3]: Tracking is interesting, could it not be
equipped with a tracking device?
operations. In the United States, there have been difficulties over the past several years involving

regulations set by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), over the use of drones to deliver

lightweight packages. Initially, the FAA required commercial drones to remain “within visual

line-of-sight of the pilot and observer” (Estes). Ruling out the idea of using drones for delivery

purposes.

Benefits

Notable companies like Amazon and UPS worked with the FAA on updating the rules.

Resulting in the FAA, launching its UAS Integration Pilot Program. According to the report,

“UAS Integration Pilot Program”, published by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the

aim for the pilot program is to bring state, local, and tribal governments together with private
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sector entities to accelerate safe drone integration. How will companies and consumers benefit

from this partnership? Delivery drones can quickly deliver products to virtually any location.

They are to be programmed to deliver certain items starting from its distribution center to the

address of the individual who ordered the product. Allowing consumers quicker access to things

they are not able to access through local stores. On top of this, comes its ability to conserve

energy. According to an article, “Drone Delivery: How Will It Affect Your Community?”,

published by Fehr and Peers, delivery drones lead to “reduced greenhouse gas emissions as

smaller and lighter packages are transported via drones rather than traditional delivery trucks.”

The emissions used by a delivery drone is far fewer than traditional deliveries. Fewer airplanes

and trucks will be need allowing for a reduction in the price of shipping and handling.

Furthermore, delivery drones offer a safer delivery system. Crystal Ayres, author of the article

“18 Delivery Drones Pros and Cons” published by Vittana, states that “delivery drones create a

safer system for delivery because they remove many of these factors [accidents, run out of fuel,

encounter delays due to road constructions and slippery set of entryway stairs] from the

equation.” With U.S regulators finally getting on board, it is time for companies to shift their

focus towards incorporating delivery drones. Commented [4]: Maybe go into the cons after this
sentence in a new paragraph with reasons the FAA is
so reluctant/counterargument. I think one of the major
Companies Begin Testing ones will be privacy concerns.

Amazon is testing its Amazon Prime Air service in several international locations. The

delivery service was announced on December 1, 2013, by Amazon’s own CEO, Jeff Bezos. In an

interview on 60 Minutes, Bezos revealed the aim for the service was to “deliver packages to

customers around the world in 30 minutes or less”. Three years later on December 7, 2016,

Amazon launched its first Prime Air service in the United Kingdom. After receiving an order, an Commented [5]: Was it successful?

Amazon autonomous drone powered by GPS, make its way to a nearby fulfillment center. Upon
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arriving, the drone is loaded up with a package weighing five pounds or less, and sent off to its

final destination, a process controlled by a consumers click of a button.

The United Parcel Service (UPS), published the article “The Future of Drones: Is The

Sky The Limit?” to inform its consumers on the companies aim with its delivery drone launch.

The article states, “drones offer a great solution to deliver to hard-to-reach locations in urgent

situations where other modes of transportation are not readily available.” Through delivery

drones, the UPS hopes to be able to reach destinations a traditional vehicle could not, quickly

and efficiently delivering its package. It is estimated that cutting off just one mile for the routes

of the 66,000 delivery drivers used by the company, results in about fifty million dollars in

savings. For this reason, UPS partnered up with ZipLine, a robotics company and drone

manufacturer, in efforts to reach its aim to achieve a quicker and cost-efficient delivery process. Commented [6]: How reliable are the drones expected
to be? Chances of failure due to unforeseen
circumstances, technical failure. Also what precautions
Domino’s, as we all know and love, prominently launched its first drone delivered pizza are set to compensate for failure?

in 2016 to a couple, in New Zealand. Three months after partnering up with Flirtey, a drone

delivery service, Domino’s announced their first successful delivery. In a press release,

Domino’s CEO and Managing Director, Don Meij, the press release states its purpose in

partnering up with a drone delivery service was due to the ability for a drone avoiding “traffic

congestion and traffic lights, and safely reduce the delivery time and distance by traveling

directly to customers’ homes.” In order for this delivery to happen, multiple flights and food

temperature testing had to take place. Domino’s will continue its test-flights in six other markets

- Australia, Belgium, France, The Netherlands, Japan and, Germany. When the FAA loosens the

tight knot it has on drones, test-flights will begin in the United States as well.

Future of Drone Delivery

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Delivery drones are actively growing in all kinds of industries. It is time we incorporate

drones to e-commerce. Rolling out delivery drones will lower the environmental impact of

package delivery and lead to a quick and efficient delivery process. That does not mean we need

to completely get rid of delivery trucks. Challenges still exist when it comes to delivery drones.

At the moment, drones are only able to deliver five-pound packages. Yoram Solomon, author of

the article, “Why Drones Actually Can’t Deliver Packages to Homes,” published on Inc., states

that “delivering a five-pound package will require a 100-pound drone. The FAA restricts drone

weight to 55 pounds, which means one that can fly 15 minutes to you and 15 minutes back with

only a 2.75-pound package.” The mechanism still needs to be perfected and security measures

against hackers have to come into place. Drones will be used in conjunction with delivery

vehicles. A delivery driver being able to pull up to a central point and launch six drones from

that one spot is a win compared to the door to door method. Jobs will not be lost, rather created.

More people will be needed to operate drones.

Do not worry. Delivery drones are coming, just not as soon as thought. Any minute now,

the iPhone case and charger you order will arrive within an hour from the moment you submit

your order. That birthday gift you forgot to get your friend will not be so last minute after all.

The moment delivery drones clogged the skies, delivery times will become almost instant,

energy will be conserved, and difficult-to-access areas will become easier to access. When will

delivery drones become a part of your reality? Guess you will just have to keep looking up.
Works Cited
Admin. “Pros and Cons of Delivery Drones.” Grind Drone, 7 Oct. 2017. Web. 1 Apr. 2019,
Commented [7]: Really good! i would add some
possible cons to drone use, jobs will be created but
could it affect air traffic? maybe interfere with wildlife,
you definitely have the pros and they all sound great
but a counterargument with other possible possible
problems coupled with solutions could also reinforce
your stance.

grinddrone.com/info/pros-cons-delivery-drones.

“Amazon Prime Air.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 22 Mar. 2019. Web. 1 Apr. 2019,
 Usman 6

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_Prime_Air.

Ayres, Crystal. “18 Delivery Drones Pros and Cons.” Vittana.org. Web. 1 Apr. 2019,

vittana.org/18-delivery-drones-pros-and-cons.

CBS News. “Amazon's Jeff Bezos Looks to the Future.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, 14 July

2017,. Web. 1 Apr. 2019, www.cbsnews.com/video/amazons-jeff-bezos-looks-to-the-

future/.

CNBC, director. YouTube. YouTube, YouTube, 16 Nov. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?

v=JoP1lvgGLys.

Crawford, Charles. “6 Awesome Ways Drones Are Being Used Today.” Lifehack, Lifehack, 26

May 2016. Web. 1 Apr. 2019 www.lifehack.org/403615/6-awesome-ways-drones-are-

being-used-today.

Estes, Adam Clark. “7 Reasons Why Drone Delivery Service Won't Work (Yet).” Gizmodo,

Gizmodo, 30 Nov. 2015. Web. 1 Apr. 2019, gizmodo.com/7-reasons-why-drone-

delivery-

service-wont-work-yet-1745250109.

Fehr, Juergen & Peers, Jack. “Drone Delivery.” Fehr & Peers, 26 Sept. 2018. Web. 1 Apr. 2019,

http://www.fehrandpeers.com/drone-delivery/

Griffey-Brown, Charla. “The Societal Impact of Commercial Drones.” Technology in

Work Cited Cont.

Society, Pergamon, 15 Mar. 2016, Web. 1 Apr. 2019,

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160791X15300828
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Orf, Darren. “New FAA Drone Rules Are Thankfully Lenient But a Headache for

Amazon.” Gizmodo, Gizmodo, 15 Feb. 2015. Web. 1 Apr. 2019, gizmodo.com/the-faas-

drone-rules-are-thankfully-lenient-but-a-heada-1685947506.

Reid, David. “Domino's Delivers World's First Ever Pizza by Drone.” CNBC, CNBC, 16 Nov.

2016. Web. 1 Apr. 2019, www.cnbc.com/2016/11/16/dominos-has-delivered-the-worlds-

first-ever-pizza-by-drone-to-a-new-zealand-couple.html.

“Prime Air.” Amazon, Amazon, www.amazon.com/Amazon-Prime-Air/b?

ie=UTF8&node=8037720011.

Schaper, David. “Regulators To Ease Restrictions On Drones, Clearing The Way For More

Commercial Uses.” NPR, NPR, 14 Jan. 2019. Web. 1 Apr. 2019,

https://www.npr.org/2019/01/14/685341451/regulators-to-ease-restrictions-on-drones-

clearing-the-way-for-more-commercial-u

Solomon, Yoram. “Why Drones Actually Can't Deliver Packages to Homes.” Inc.com,

Inc., 9 Aug. 2016. Web. 1 Apr. 2019, www.inc.com/yoram-solomon/why-drones-

actually-cant-deliver-packages-to-homes.html.

“The Future of Drones: Is the Sky the Limit?” UPS, www.ups.com/us/en/services/knowledge-

center/article.page?kid=a0f551b5.

“UAS Integration Pilot Program.” FAA Seal, 7 Nov. 2018, www.faa.gov/uas/

programs_partnerships/integration_pilot_program/.