Revolutionizing Global Health: How Drones Enhance Medical Delivery
Photo by Jared Brashier on Unsplash
Unmanned aircraft systems, commonly known as drones, are becoming increasingly popular in modern logistics operations. Delivery drones transport medicines, parcels, groceries, food, and other homecare products. These drone delivery operations are gaining widespread importance in last-mile delivery given their accuracy, environment-friendly operations, shorter delivery time, and lower operational cost than traditional delivery channels. As per analysts, the operating costs for a drone delivery service are 40% to 70% lower than a vehicle delivery service model. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic has further accelerated the requirement to look for alternative, safe, and contactless delivery models. This has led to an upsurge in the global demand for drone delivery services.[1]
Delivery drones are unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that can deliver lightweight packages. Drones generally use 4-8 propellers and rechargeable batteries to provide thrust and attach packages underneath the body of the drone. Delivery drones are operated autonomously or remotely, with operators potentially overseeing multiple drones at once. Delivery drones have the potential to change last mile delivery economics for smaller and lighter packages by replacing many deliveries currently made by traditional delivery vehicles. [1]
The evolution in technology over the last century has changed people’s approach in performing daily activities through "drones" (unmanned aircrafts directed by remote control) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (aircrafts piloted by remote control) which are now widely available in the commercial market, among many other advancements. In fact, commercial drones and UAVs are quite cheap instrument that enables users to access areas that are normally difficult/dangerous to reach. Drones and UAVs could soon bring enormous changes in delivery services.[1]
Drone Industry Overview
The application and usage of drones technology have since evolved to include various other labor-intensive and complex tasks across industries. Major industry players like Amazon, UPS, DHL, Walmart etc., have already introduced drone delivery services on their platforms. The industry is also supported by specialist drone delivery operators and technology providers like Wing, Zipline, and Matternet. The global delivery drones market size was estimated at US$ 873.4 million in 2023 and is estimated to reach US$ 8 billion by 2027, at a significant Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 41.8%. It is predicted that in 2026, more than one million drones will be carrying out retail deliveries. A recent study found that the United States is the country that uses drones the most.
Currently some countries leading the adoption of drone delivery are: Asia - China and Japan; Africa - Remote areas in Rwanda and Ghana; Oceania - Australia and Vanuatu; Europe - Finland, Iceland and Switzerland; America - Multiple states in the US and Canada for various packages including food, personal and home care products, medical supplies and test samples and other retail products.[2]
Use In Healthcare
The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the adaptation of drones in delivering medicines and vaccines worldwide. This has been extremely beneficial in regions where geographical constraints and lack of refrigerated transport pose significant challenges. Currently following are a few areas of use:[3]
Medical Items to be Flown by Drone: Defibrillator, medications, first aid kit, organs, blood samples,, trauma-specific equipment, blood products, urine/stool samples, time-sensitive samples, medical equipment to care for newborn
Challenges
Drone delivery also faces some technical and logistical challenges that need to be overcome. For example, drones need to have reliable and secure communication systems, adequate battery life, and robust navigation and collision avoidance capabilities. Additionally, drones need to have suitable landing zones, weather conditions, and payload capacities. Moreover, drones need to comply with various regulations and standards, such as airspace rules, safety requirements, and noise limits. For logistics companies to make an adequate return on investment (ROI), they’d need to build a micro-fulfillment center next to every major city. Obstacles are another frequently overlooked — and unavoidable — challenge. While autonomous delivery drones are often equipped with computer vision, artificial intelligence, and sensors, they won’t be able to recognize objects as well as humans. In other words, they have a much higher chance of running into power lines, low-flying aircraft, trees, birds, and people.
Major challenges for drone delivery providers are:[4]
· Legislative and regulatory issues: To keep a check on issues like altitude (drones cannot fly higher than 400 ft.), span of operation, the weight of the drone, privacy laws, and navigable airspace.
· Trained Manpower: There is limited availability of skilled and experienced resources in the drone delivery space.
· Infrastructure: The initial implementation and set-up costs are high for drones. Setting up of drone launch pads, aligning the movement of drones with buildings and open operational spaces, licenses, battery charging facilities, software and technology, training facilities, and research and development require high investments.
· Public acceptance: Many consumers are still not ready to accept drone deliveries due to privacy, safety, and security concerns.
· Weather impact: Weather is one of the biggest obstacles — drones can’t fly in hail, fog, rain, sleet, or windy conditions. If it’s too hot out, their lifting capacity drops drastically, and their batteries drain much faster in the cold. Wildlife, or vandalism/sabotage, could bring down a drone during delivery, potentially creating a safety hazard for those on the ground.
· Local restrictions may be enacted to limit operations in some areas, such as dense urban centers or where concerns about excess noise exist.[4]
Legal Issues Of Drone Delivery
For example, drones may face liability issues, such as who is responsible for damage or injury caused by drones, or who owns the data collected by drones. Drones may also face intellectual property issues, such as who owns the patents or copyrights of drone technology or software. Additionally, drones may face security issues, such as how to prevent hacking, theft, or sabotage of drones. Hence, drone delivery needs to have clear and consistent laws and regulations that protect the rights and obligations of different parties. [4]
Preventable Challenges to Widespread Adoption
There is a need for a pre-determined location like a parcel locker. Placing a package at the right doorstep requires the correct pick-up location. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)’s Part 107 rule involves a line of sight between the pilot and their drone at all times. Moreover, operators must get a remote pilot certificate, register, and pass tests before ever being able to fly — or watch over — a drone. They can’t fly above 400 feet or over congested areas even if they have all these credentials. The regulations are strict. Unless a pioneering logistics company works to change things, they will remain in the way. [4]
The Future Of Drones
The use of drone technology and drones for delivery is inevitable. Soon, multiple industries will leverage drone technology to bring innovation to their business areas, including surveillance, research, last-mile delivery, etc. They have to invest in this field and remain focused on bringing down the cost of operations in last-mile delivery, improving delivery time, and integrating drone technology with mobile phone applications to provide better user experiences. [4]
Drone delivery is still in its early stages of development and implementation, but it has the potential to transform the way goods and services are delivered. However, drone delivery also has to deal with the social implications that may arise from its use. Therefore, drone delivery needs to have a holistic and collaborative approach that considers the technical, logistical, ethical, and legal aspects of its operation. By doing so, drone delivery can create value and benefit for society. Regardless of drones being notorious for politics, warfare, and terrorism, the healthcare sector could utilize the abilities that drones have to offer to better the efficiency of their services.
References
1. Collins Dictionary [Internet]. Definition of a Drone. [cited 2022 May 3]. Available at: https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/drone
2. Johnson AM, Cunningham CJ, Arnold E, Rosamond WD, Zègre-Hemsey J. Imapct of Using Drones in Emergency Medicine: What Does the Future Hold? Open Access Emergency Medicine [Internet]. 2021 Nov
3. Drones deliver blood to prevent maternal death in Botswana. United Nations News [Internet] 2021 May 30 [cited 2022 Jul 27
4. M. Balasingam. Drones in medicine—the rise of the machines. Int. J. Clin. Pract, 2017