E-Drone: Transforming the Energy Demand of Supply Chains Through Integrated UAV-to-land Logistics for 2030

Vans are the fastest-growing category of licensed road vehicle in the UK with growing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The proposed research into how Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and land logistics systems can be combined and managed will provide fundamental new understanding into the impacts of regulation and operating criteria on energy efficiency and costs. Medical logistics could be the first domain to utilise UAVs on a commercial scale, with preliminary analysis on pathology logistics within Southampton indicating that UAVs would significantly reduce CO2 emissions. With the National Health Service (NHS) spending an estimated £2.5 billion annually on pathology logistics and with patient numbers rising, there is a need to re-think how logistics costs could be reduced whilst improving bleed-to-diagnosis times for patients and energy demand.

The research vision is to examine the energy reduction potential of logistics solutions involving UAVs operating alongside sustainable last-mile delivery solutions (cargo cycles and walking porters via micro-consolidation points).

This involves understanding UAV operations in airspace shared with manned aircraft. The project focuses on a case study and trials based around NHS pathology sample transportation in the Solent and Dorset region. The key research objectives are to:

1. Investigate the collective transport and energy impacts of current 'business-as-usual' NHS pathology logistics across the Solent region;
2. Develop new simulation tools to quantify the energy consumption of UAVs and land logistics systems resulting from new types of traffic regulation for shared airspace and the operating requirements of UAVs;
3. Evaluate the impact on air space and energy use of a large scale take-up of UAVs for medical logistics across the Solent region;
4. Understand stakeholder concerns about UAVs;
5. Understand the regulatory and governance needs associated with UAV interventions that will lead to energy benefits in logistics.