Drones(无人机) that fly packages straight to people’s doors could be an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional modes of transportation. In the United States, major companies such as Amazon have been experimenting with using drones and robots to deliver packages with an eye to reducing their environmental impact.
Interest in the idea grew even more during the COVID-19 pandemic. A survey conducted in mid-2020 found that more than 60% of people would be willing to pay extra for their packages to be delivered by robots. This was partly the result of a desire to avoid infection, says Thiago Rodrigues, a transportation researcher and a co-author of the new study. However, he adds that another reason was the fact that automated(自动化的) delivery is often faster than waiting for delivery trucks to make the rounds.
With technology improving, drone delivery is likely to become more common in the near future, says Juan Zhang, a transportation researcher at a University. “Therefore, we need more studies about the energy consumption of drones,” she says.
Rodrigues and his colleagues have done just such a study. The researchers were able to determine how much energy was needed to fly a drone, as well as the quantities of greenhouse gases emitted by generating the electricity to charge the drone’s battery. The results show that a drone’s environmental footprint depends, in part, on where it’s charged. In the US Midwest, for example, electricity generation is more carbon intensive than in New York. But regardless of region, drones have a much smaller environmental impact than diesel(柴油) and electric trucks when it comes to moving small packages. The study also found that electric bikes consumed less energy per package than drones did.
Using drones to deliver lightweight parcels and other electric vehicles to move larger items could slash the sector’s energy costs, says Rodrigues. But many warnings remain. For instance, most drones carry only one package at a time, so they could be less energy efficient at delivering many packages than a single truck, says Zhang. But even with this uncertainty, it’s helpful to have data that compare the energy use of drones with that of other methods of delivery, she says.
“The way we deliver goods to customers is changing rapidly,” says Rodrigues. “Our research suggests that shifting to autonomous vehicles could provide a very efficient and sustainable approach for last-mile delivery.”
本时文内容由奇速英语国际教育研究院原创编写，未经书面授权，禁止复制和任何商业用途，版权所有，侵权必究！（作者投稿及时文阅读定制请联系微信：18980471698）
13980503458
13980503458
admin@qisuen.cn
