You’ve probably heard about the idea of delivering packages right to your doorstep via so-called “delivery drones”. The technology is readily available and has been around for years, your probably wondering why you’re not seeing them employed right now, especially during the corona virus pandemic.
Although there are drones capable of carrying packages and delivering them, there are a few reasons why our skies still aren’t filled with delivery drones and they are as follows:
The Drone Laws
Whenever you fly a drone, you have to abide with the rules and regulations by the FAA. Such rules can limit the number of use of drones for deliveries. There are areas where testing of drone deliveries are done while there are also limited areas where a few companies are allowed to offer drone delivery services.
Some examples of the rules that can hinder anyone for drone delivery services include the following:
- Prohibiting the flight of drones over people who are not involved in the operation
- Drone and payload weight restriction
- The limit of one drone per pilot at a time
- Requiring the pilot to have a visual line-of-sight of their drone at all times
Financial Barriers To Drone Delivery
Drones aren’t cheap, especially the ones that you can rely on to deliver the goods in good condition. Many companies may be willing to spend on drones as an investment but the financial woes don’t stop there. The rules regarding a pilot flying a single drone can be too expensive for companies.
It is also not as economical as compared to the current situation where a delivery driver picks up and delivers hundreds of packages in a day through their delivery truck. A drone could only carry a few packages at a time, depending on the weight of the package.
Final Words
We may see the rules of the FAA as hindrances to drone delivery but those are just created for safety purposes. There are situations that the FAA is just trying to avoid. They are just making the airspace safer for everyone who uses it.
Apart from safety, the FAA also has such rules to prevent issues with people’s privacy. However, that doesn’t mean drones would never be used for deliveries, the FAA is still working on solutions to make the airspace accessible and safe for everyone’s use.