Dutch consumers expect their parcel to be delivered by drone within a short time. According to research by online community Drones.nl, some eighty percent of Dutch people believe in a great future for the drone.
All kinds of parties are busy experimenting with drones. Amazon is testing parcel delivery by drone, Google is developing its own drone and Swiss Post is not letting the technology pass it by either. Companies believe that using drones can bring them benefits. For instance, drone delivery would be a lot faster and cheaper. Moreover, it is a cleaner mode of transport compared to a delivery van. Islands or remote areas can also be reached more easily.
Read also: Research: deployment of drones reduces delivery costs
Bumps in the road
Still, it is debatable what this form of parcel delivery will look like in practice. What about safety? And privacy? Should we expect skies full of drones in cities? And how to make sure drones' packages are not snatched by passers-by?
Currently, the regulations surrounding the commercial use of drones ensure that there are no answers to these questions. This is because it is not yet legal to deploy drones in the skies for parcel delivery, with the law stipulating that drones must always remain within sight of the driver. Especially with parcel delivery, this is not possible. So we are waiting for the regulations to be relaxed.
'Within five years, the drone will be commonplace'
So if it is up to the consumers surveyed, this easing cannot come soon enough. Half of respondents expect unmanned delivery drones to be flying through the skies as early as five years. According to 37 per cent, this will still take between five to 10 years. In addition, 6 per cent think it will take a longer breath. According to them, it would take another 11 to 20 years before drones are at consumers' doorsteps.
Editorial LogistiekProfs
