[서울=뉴스핌] Reporter Wonjin Choi = It is predicted that by 2040, unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) can account for 30% of the same day delivery.
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| UPS drone delivery test flight site in Florida, USA. 2017.02.20. [사진=로이터 뉴스핌] |
According to Bloomberg News on the 14th (local time), UK-based consulting firm LEK Consulting released a report and predicted that drones will use same-day delivery due to lower costs due to technological advancements.
LEK Consulting said, “The exact market share will depend on how the carrier configures the network and the difference in cost compared to road-based transportation.” He explained that it will be a new addition to the transportation system.
Drones can take off and land vertically, so they use less space than airplanes or helicopters. Thus, in countries like Australia, the scale of the drone transportation business could reach billions of dollars, LEK predicts.
However, the company pointed out that there are several obstacles, such as building infrastructure to be more cost-effective than taxis and trucks, as well as the uncertainty of whether or not the community will accept aircraft flying over cities and houses.
US e-commerce company Amazon and China’s Jingdong (京東, JD.com) are promoting a drone business for delivery, and this month Google received approval for a test flight of a firefighting drone.