Land-based delivery systems are reaching their limits with the growing demand for product delivery. This is owing to the increased road network demand and difficulty finding delivery drivers. The best alternative for this supply chain problem is a remotely piloted aircraft system(RPAS) to deliver the packages. The RPAS systems have certain limitations, such as physical constraints limiting battery weight, range of the routes, government regulation and geographical locations. Still, they can be a robust and reliable substitute if the systems are optimized.
Researchers at George Washington University have developed a system that optimizes flight routes keeping in mind the restrictions set forth by the physical limitation, terrain and government regulations. This system incorporates positive attributes of internet of things(IoT) principles in the design that would allow RPAS to interact amongst themselves and aid in optimizing the routing process. This system has also been set to comply with the new specific operations risk assessment (SORA) standards by the European air safety agency. Based on the technology, the system could optimize the objectives functions reducing it by 31.9% on average.
Applications :
- Defense
- Forestry
- Product delivery with complex terrain and high rises
- Any application where a drone flight might be necessary
Advantage
- Reduction of flight time
- Faster delivery
- Ability to navigate complex terrains with added technology like LiDAR or visuals
- Reducing operating cost
- AI systems can be included to make the system autonomous
