New Drone Service Would Make Urban Deliveries Possible

May 24, 2016
The Uvionic nSKY system would offer $3 deliveries by unmanned aircraft, or drones, from vendors within 6 miles, and is expected to be deployment ready by 2017.

A new service, presented at an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) convention earlier this month, is looking to the future of local drone delivery, and this time it's not just standard packages. 

The Uvionic nSKY system would offer $3 deliveries by unmanned aircraft, or drones, from vendors within 6 miles, and is expected to be deployment ready by 2017.  

To use the system customers would order items, even something as small as a coffee, through participating restaurants and stores, then the employees would load the drones, tap an app on a smartphone and the drones would be sent to the location.  

During take off and landing operations, a trained pilot will monitor the autonomous flight.  

But, even with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and NASA developing advocacy groups and air traffic control systems, the infrastructure is not yet in place to put a system like this in motion. Before deliveries such as these can take place, the FAA needs to approve urban drone delivery.  

One third of online shoppers would be willing to opt for delivery by drones, which qualifies as urban drone delivery, according to a 2015 report by eDigitalResearch. Of those open to the idea, over half, at 68 percent, feel faster delivery is the main benefit, and 40 percent believe it would offer less expensive and more convenient delivery options.