Are DRONES the future of delivery? U.S.

firm plans vast network to deliver everything from drugs to post

Matternet already trialling its drone in Haiti to deliver drugs to remote areas Drones could use huge networks with base station to recharge themselves Networks set to be used in rural areas with poor road networks
By Mark Prigg PUBLISHED: 14:26 GMT, 31 May 2013 | UPDATED: 14:28 GMT, 1 June 2013

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Drones could soon be delivering everything from post to drugs using a vast international network, a U.S. firm has claimed. Matternet, a Silicon Valley startup, has already trialled the drone network in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, where they were able to fly for six miles carrying a 2kg payload. The firm now hopes to expand with an ambitious plan to replace existing delivery systems and set up a global network of 'drone routes' for the gadgets, which can automatically fly themselves. Scroll down for video

You've got drone-mail: The U.S. startup hopes to initially use the network to deliver drugs and other supplies to third world countries

HOW IT WORKS
The matternet drones are entirely automated, and will be backed up by a network of 'hubs' on the ground rather like post offices. These hubs would let the drones pick up and drop of packages, and also recharge their batteries before continuing to the next station. Control of the drones and the assignment of packages for delivery would eventually be handled by an automated operating system, Matternet says, and orders or requests could be placed and paid for by mobile phone. The firm hopes to set up recharging base stations for the drones so they can stop and recharge themselves along the way. Currently the firm has drones that can travel six miles and carry 2kg, but has plans for larger drones with a longer range. The firm hopes the system will be used initially in rural areas or countries where there is no established road network. 'The easiest way to describe what we are doing is to compare how mobile telephony has taken off in the developing world,' Matternet founder and CEO, Andreas Raptopoulos told CNN. '(We want) to leapfrog the traditional modes of transportation infrastructure in a similar way and bring items through these unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to people who may otherwise be cut off or isolated,' So far, Matternet have reached the stage of running trials of 'quadrocopter' drones, which took place in Haiti and the Dominican Republic last year. The firm has ambitious plans.

'We are creating the next paradigm for transportation using a network of unmanned aerial vehicles,' it says. the
next paradigm for transportation using a network of unmanned aerial vehicles

Urban drones: the delivery systems could eventually be used in cities around the world to automatically deliver packages

The potential applications, the firm says,include delivery of medicines to disconnected areas, enabling farmers to supply products directly to customers and providing vital materials to areas cut off by natural disasters. If the initial trials are a success, a version for cities could also be built, allowing existing couriers to be replaced by unmanned drones flying through the sky. The firm also believes the system could be relatively cheap, and according to CNN, a Matternet case study of the Maseru district of Lesotho, put the price of a network of 50 base-stations and 150 drones at just $900,000.

An artist's impression of how Matternet's drone network could expand across Africa to offer deliveries to remote areas using base stations

The prototype design for a Matternet drone, showing a large cargo carrying area in red, and six rotor blades to keep it in the air

Unmanned aerial vehicles will revolutionalise transportation

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View all It is a way to try and ge everyone to accept drones that way they can spy on us all. - Dr Teddy Robbear , Edinburgh, United Kingdom, 03/6/2013 00:29 Click to rate Report abuse We cant feed half the world, but robots will deliver their Mail. - Dan MDK Woking , Woking, United Kingdom, 03/6/2013 00:09 Click to rate Report abuse It will be invaluable after global depopulation. - Student , Leeds, United Kingdom, 02/6/2013 21:48 Click to rate Report abuse The only thing we have fluting about at the moment are aircraft, helicopters. These are controlled by the CAA and FAA. Who will regulate drones? Surely they will need service schedules or these things could start falling out if the sky killing people. - joeninety , Cyberspace, 02/6/2013 20:23 Click to rate Report abuse The drone eye view is encrochment on the view of our LORD and we must be-wear. It is not our territory to explore. - Big Nugget , London, 02/6/2013 19:43 Click to rate Report abuse Why don't the inventor focus on inventing long-lasting battery, this is what we need NOW - zxcvbnm , UK, 02/6/2013 18:56 Click to rate Report abuse Isn't technology great - ohnoes , Vire, France, 02/6/2013 18:13 Click to rate Report abuse And so, as the dust settled on the employment wars, the robots were the victors, the humans going against their capitalist programming that began in the old world schools with "what's Tommy gunner be when he's older, a soldier", finally realised that resources are the key to what we can have, moreover that it is not essential to work until you die, you can enjoy life, 'working' on things that you wished you had time for in the old days of 24/7/365/grave.......ARR. - DMrSoles , Netherworld, Saint Helena, 02/6/2013 13:37 Rating 9 Rating 3 Rating 35 Rating 3 Rating 11 Rating 17 Rating 15

Click to rate Report abuse

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Interesting for emergency drops and access to remote areas, but surely swarms of drones in the sky will be a hazard? - patricu , Dublin, 02/6/2013 08:12 Click to rate Report abuse I'm sure even with drones my orders will arrive during the day usually to the wrong address and in a damaged box. - mista chris , midlands, 02/6/2013 08:00 Click to rate Report abuse Share this comment The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. Today's headlines Most Read Apple unveils revolution to the way your iPhone and iPad looks: Company bosses show next generation software that 'ditches classic interface' Can toddlers and apes teach us lessons about how language evolved? Scientists discover striking similarities in their communication The 'helmet' umbrella you'll never have to wrestle with on a windy day because it can't blow inside out (or poke others in the eye) Revealed: The 'comet factory' where planets first form after particles are clumped together in a dust trap Back from the deep: 600,000 rescue operation lifts German bomber from the Channel bed Has DRINKABLE water been found on Mars? Expedition rover Opportunity finds first signs it once flowed there Why a tattoo really IS a 'tramp stamp': Study suggests men more likely to try and chat up a painted lady because they think is she is promiscuous Easter Island's mystical statues may have been 'walked' into place using ropes by mysterious civilisation The stunning first images of the young stars found in our galaxys 'countryside' First woman to go into space offers to set out on one-way trip to Mars at the age of 76 Is this the end of curtains and blinds? New Wi-Fi enabled windows change transparency at the click of button Bird's eye view: Captivating images of barn swallows stopping over in France during 1,000-MILE migration to Africa How Facebook can ruin your relationship: 'Site induced jealousy' increases risk of divorce and break-up Planes powered by cows, floating luggage and battery-powered aircraft: Just some of the aviation ideas dreamt up by engineers of the future Violent images in movies, TV or computer games CAN act as triggers for aggression, says new report Alien-hunting $1 billion telescope could be ready in just 5 years Scientists unveil invisibility cloak big enough to hide a human or a satellite orbiting earth - so long as you look at it from one direction only Well at least it's not blue! The 100k Porsche Panamera wrapped in VELVET MORE HEADLINES Apple unveils revolution to the way your iPhone and iPad looks: Company bosses show next generation software that 'ditches classic interface' Microsoft announces the new Xbox One will launch in November with a 429 price tag - and the new Halo game will come next year How rickets affected even the wealthy in the 17th Century: Bones from Medici children show they suffered from malnutrition Planes powered by cows, floating luggage and battery-powered aircraft: Just some of the aviation ideas dreamt up by engineers of the future Alien-hunting $1 billion telescope could be ready in just 5 years Has DRINKABLE water been found on Mars? Expedition rover Opportunity finds first signs it once flowed there Why a tattoo really IS a 'tramp stamp': Study suggests men more likely to try and chat up a painted lady because they think is she is promiscuous Is this the end of curtains and blinds? New Wi-Fi enabled windows change transparency at the click of button Rating 14 Rating 11

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