Research project
E-Drone
- Start date: 1 January 2021
- End date: 30 June 2024
- Funder: EPSRC
- Value: £1.5 million
- Partners and collaborators: University of Southampton; University College London, Bournemouth University
- External primary investigator: Tom Cherrett (University of Southampton)
- Co-investigators: Professor Greg Marsden
- External co-investigators: Professor J Chang, Professor J Scanlan, Professor B Anvari, Professor J Dickinson, Professor J Zhang
The E-Drone project has examined the energy reduction potential of integrated logistics solutions involving Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles (UAVs, commonly known as drones) operating alongside traditional and sustainable last-mile delivery solutions (e.g. vans, cargo cycles, walking porters).
This involved generating fundamental new understanding of how drone operations will function in shared airspace in harmony with traditional, crewed aircraft under various regulations. The project used a case study approach based around NHS patient diagnostic sample transportation involving simulated and live trials across the Solent region.
Drones are increasingly seen as a new mode to assist in last-mile logistics to significantly reduce service times, energy consumption and emissions, with NHS patient diagnostics being seen as a realistic domain that could utilise drones on a commercial scale. With the NHS spending an estimated £2.5 billion annually on pathology logistics alone, and with patient numbers rising, there is a need to re-think how logistics costs could be reduced along with energy demand, whilst improving the bleed-to-diagnosis times for patients.
Our research into how drones and land logistics systems can be combined and managed has provided fundamental new understanding into the impacts of regulation and operating criteria on the energy efficiency of mixed logistics fleets. Through advanced simulation modelling the research has pinpointed the challenges of drones competing with electric delivery vans and last-mile e-bikes due to the ways in which the NHS is organised, the efficiency of multiple pick ups en-route and the weight of the goods shipped.
In addition the project has produced valuable new methods to understand how the public might react to drones using immersive VR in real settings, computer and board games. Finally, it assessed the extent to which different decision-makers and practitioners understood the governance challenges to drone introduction. Whilst for some, it is “full-steam ahead” for others there are major reservations and a set of conditions which, if adopted, would further limit the potential of drones for urban delivery. The research underlines the importance of objective analysis and reflection on new technologies to avoid the hype cycle and to think about if, and if so, where such technologies would provide an economic, social and environmental benefit.
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Publications and outputs
https://www.e-drone.org/project-outputs