Scenarios
Here one finds some future scenarios and a survey that addressed how people thought about drone delivery and possibly using our system.
5-10 Years from Now
Scenario 1
In scenario one drone delivery will be a succes. Drones will be flying over the city to various pick up points near supermarkets.
This system will only work in big city's because people who live in the countryside still want their packages delivered to their doorstep.
In The big city's where there are three supermarkets in 1 kilometer distance drones will fly over in a particular line.
People will receive an email with a code and when they go and do their groceries they will get their packages.
At first it will not be used because people now are not used than they can have their packages within 1 hour and don't need it yet. But people want everything in the future to go faster and faster.
Scenario 2
Drone delivery will not be a success.
the rules and regulations didn't allow drones to fly over the city.
People are to afraid their package is not good protected if it is delivered by the sky.
People are not willing to travel to their supermarket to pick up their package. if they use this system they want the package delivered to their doorstep.
Survey
To view survey questions click Media:survey.pdf.
To fill in the questionaire click here
Survey Data
an excel file with the date can be found here File:Survey results.pdf
Analysis and Conclusions
46 people filled in the questionnaire, but in three cases it did not go as planned and the data of these cases is unusable.
In the data of the survey we see that approximately 2/3 of the participants is positive with relation to drones delivering their packages.
With positive we mean people would use the system and had no big remarks (bezwaren) on the system. There were some people who would not use it, but they never ordered packages online so we counted them as positive.
Most people have comments on several points safety, privacy, and location. The greatest opposition to this delivery system is the safety. People are worried their package will not be delivered safely. It can be shot out of the air, people could trace these packages easily. Also are people not fan of drones flying over their properties. especially with recording devices (which delivery drones don't need) This issue of privacy is for a lot of people very important. Many of the concerns expressed by the survey takers about privacy and safety should be addressed by legislation. Technological advancements for drones have proven them to be quite stealthy so in regards to safety, at least the drones can handle damage. Knowledge should be spread more about the capabilities of these drones and the positives they could have for manykind.
Besides safety and privacy issues people are not willing to walk to their supermarket when currently, they can get their packages delivered at home. If it can be delivered at home why go to your supermarket? The longer wait does not matter that much, although there are some people who would love it to get their package so fast. A majority could see drones delivering to one's own home rather than just to the supermarket. In order for that idea to become true, however, the transition for drone delivery will take baby steps. Having drones deliver directly to one's home is affected by people's views on safety, privacy, and much more.
Other notes about the system that were revealed by the survey were impact on the environment (less trucks), mail delivery guys, efficiency (only one package a time) and responsibilities.
In order to make this adoption of drone delivery a success, a critical mass of users and initiators has to be persuaded that this is the real deal. And this would have to start by addressing their qualms. Legislation is already taking advances toward addressing the future, it is also time to make more people aware of this shift.