Drone delivery of single and multiple parcels in urban environments soon will at the very least achieve cost parity with the human delivery, while being safer and up to three times as fast as conventional delivery systems, according to a new white paper “The Roadmap to Scalable Last Mile Delivery” by UVL Robotics.
The receipt price of delivering a 3kg grocery parcel will be USD5 or less in a scenario where six drones perform 192 sorties per day within a 10 km (6 mile) radius. This amount closely matches what it normally costs customers to have their parcels or food delivered by most major last-mile players. And, with 99% parcels being delivered within the estimated time, autonomous drones are simply much more predictable, says the report.
“The all-electric drone-based solutions are greener than land-based alternatives in many ways, e.g. there is no idling at loading/unloading, and no rubber particles that pollute the air, leading to a 30-50% reduction in resulting CO2 emissions….The business model is proven to be cash-positive and scalable, providing a clear path to profitability for customers and investors. Autonomy, payload-specific containers, and fixed depot-to-parcel station routes are what makes the model scalable, way beyond anything that a piloted drone model can achieve.
“Drone delivery can achieve cost parity with ground networks but be faster and safer” – UVL Robotics – Urban Air Mobility News
