Giant cargo drones will deliver parcels farther and faster

A new generation of freestanding delivery vehicles the size of an airplane is capable of carrying hundreds of pounds for hundreds of miles. They are called cargo drones. They are fast, greener and could completely change the freight sector.

Delivery drones tested today are designed to drop a single object near a target, which is a more local solution. In recent months, Amazon has announced plans to drop parcels at its customers. Alphabet's Wing has been approved by the FAA to make deliveries to the United States, and UPS said it was testing its own technology by delivering medical supplies to northern Virginia hospitals. However, there are concerns about the safety and regulation of the Federal Aviation Administration.

Cargo drones offer similar benefits in terms of speed and reduced carbon footprint, but on a much larger scale. Instead of sending freight trucks on time, freight drones can ship fewer items more often, but with less impact. Designed for rural areas and for transporting goods between distribution centers, cargo drones are designed to land in water or take off vertically, making landings even more flexible.

They come in all shapes and sizes. For example, Boeing's cargo air vehicle weighs 747 pounds, has eight rotors that allow for vertical flight and can carry payloads of up to 500 pounds. Californian start-up Sabrewing is working on a prototype capable of reaching speeds of up to 180 knots (207 miles per hour) with a cruising altitude of up to 22,000 feet. Another start-up, Natilus, is working on a 10-meter prototype of the size and weight of a Predator military drone.

Image: Elroy Air

Each of these companies has spent years secretly developing high-capacity, long-range drones, but the race to race in the sky is paramount. Natilus, Sichuan Tengden Technology and Elroy Air are expected to be operational by 2020. Elroy Air's Chaparral Autonomous System hopes to be able to be used for the delivery of medical supplies, disaster response and remote military missions. But the company also sees potential in the partnership with FedEx, DHL or UPS for parcel delivery. According to David Merrill, CEO of Elroy Air, building drones of this size has been a huge investment, but it is still hoped that it will pay off.

Morgan Stanley estimates that stand-alone urban airplanes could represent a $ 1.5 trillion business figure by 2040. That includes everything from vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) planes to flying taxis, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and delivery drones. But if the delivery drones have shown us anything up to now, it is that it might not be easy to familiarize people with the idea that parcels are exchanged above their heads: 54% of Americans surveyed in 2017 by the Pew Research Center disapproved drones flying near residential areas.