Amazon Drone
Port Concept
A Network of Amazon Airports
Could Solve the Last Mile
Delivery Problem
A Network of Amazon Airports
Could Solve the Last Mile
Delivery Problem
While staring at an Amazon Locker at a local grocery store, recently, I had a brainstorm for how the Amazon Lockers' use could be expanded and used as a drone airport, and part of a broader drone networked distribution system that could also include the company's Go Stores. I have been flying drones and designing parts for drones since 2013, and with that experience I had a few ideas I thought I would sketch out.
The popular media has depicted the drone delivery as a drone taking off from the warehouse and flying directly to a customer's home or business for delivery. While this vision has the “wow” factor, it faces some challenges outlined in the concept boards below.
Amazon Smart Locker Drone Port Features:
• Solves the final mile problem without
flying to customer's business
or house
• Swap depleted batteries with charged
batteries in seconds
• Port recharges batteries for next drone
• Eliminate round-trip power requirement
on takeoff, so one-way flights can be twice
as far
• Continuous flight time for drones within the
port network
• Multi-drone support
• Automated sorting and loading
• Standard drone cargo casing
could be picked up and left
at locker by customers
• Combine suitable deliveries for
greater speed and efficiency
• Integrated inventory and flight
scheduling
Drone delivery system depicted in the media show a single drone taking off at the corporation's central distribution center, and making a direct flight to the customer's home or business. Dropping off the parcel, and returning to base. While this has the “wow” factor, the round-trip delivery model has some inherent disadvantages to a distributed network of drones working together to deliver packages that use a one-way network of drone docks.
The most important advantage of a one-way delivery model as compared to the round-trip model, is the doubling of drone range. Or alternatively, if drone range isn't needed, the savings can be used to carry additional packages. Unneeded batteries are just extra weight and reduce shipping capacity.
Perhaps there is a place for both a round-trip and a one-way delivery model. But a round-trip delivery model should carry a price premium because it requires twice the resources, twice the airspace, twice the navigation and twice the tracking time, and double the battery power onboard. Everything is a double to deliver the same volume. Plus the empty return trip is entirely wasted time and energy in the system.
The other disadvantage of the round-trip model is a political one. The delivery model to go to every house or business any time has received negative press and opposition with a growing "not-in-my-backyard" attitude that may prevent home drone delivery because of political limitations rather than technological ones. Setting point-to-point deliveries with predictable flight schedules and routes respects airspace over most homes and businesses, and may softens resistance to drone delivery services.
In contrast, by establishing a drone distribution network utilizing Amazon Smart Lockers, or recently announced Amazon Go Stores, it's possible to keep a drone airborne almost constantly, optimizing the use of the most expensive equipment – the drone – and by trading lower-cost discharged batteries for charged ones upon landing. Batteries and packages can be loaded and unloaded automatically at the Smart Locker prior to each flight, and monitored and managed remotely.
What's more, the one-way model allows a dramatic reduction of empty flights, or empty flight legs. Rather than flying back to home base empty, as is done with round trip delivery flights, drones will be programmed to pickup compatible return packages dropped off at the Smart Locker by customers. The Smart Locker will weigh and check a database of compatible products, then load them on the drone to be carried back to the warehouse. Drones can either "relay" packages by dropping the parcel off for another drone to do the next leg, or with a brief stop-over, continue to fly on to the next Smart Locker in the network. Such a drone network could provide flexible coverage over an entire city.
The Smart Locker concept is really a part of delivery ecosystem. Drones that develop technical problems, can be grounded in a safe location, and picked up by Amazon ground transportation that will be picking up packages that are too heavy to fly, anyway, and can bring troubled drones back for service.
One political advantage of the one-way routed model is that drones fly in set flight paths, perhaps along freeway or main road corridors rather than surprising neighboring home and business with a drone in their neighborhood. Having set flight patterns may prove to be an easier sell to an adversarial FAA.
Advantages:
• Amazon has already secured space
• Amazon lockers already have power
• Faster delivery times
• Point-to-point pick-up and delivery
with predictable flight times, routes,
and schedules.
Challenges:
• Current locker locations may not
have clear flight path for drone
to land
• Drone props need to be shielded
from users that may be using the
locker
Brian Self is a freelance UI/UX & Visual Designer located in the Greater Seattle area.