Much has been said about the possibilities of drone activity in cities, and very little has been put into practice. And the reason is very simple: the safety of citizens. If we can't be sure that something isn't going to fall on their heads, we can't have flying objects.
That is why the EU has developed a project called DELOREAN in which they want to test technologies and procedures that provide safety to the flight of drones for the delivery of goods and the transport of people in the environment of cities.
It is a project for several years and tests have recently been carried out in the Spanish city of Benidorm, as it is a medium city size and has many tall buildings similar to those that can be found in any large city. You can see a photo below.
Many buildings together in a large city can cause the failure of reception of the satellite signals that drones need to fly. Drones, especially if there are many flying close to each other, need to have reliable signals from satellites in order to know their precise location at all times.
And in this project is being used the signal from the Galileo satellite system to be used by drones. In the case of many tall buildings close together, the satellite signals can be deflected or obstructed, seriously affecting the flight of drones.
In the case of the Galileo system, it is very difficult for this disturbance to occur due to the structure of its signals, and it has also added new services to improve the accuracy of the location of drones. Something that they have also tried in Benidorm.
This is a very interesting and urgent project, as there are already a few drones in use in cities, generally operated by local authorities for supervision tasks.
Apart from the technical feasibility and safety of aerial drones, the business of drone delivery of goods in urban environments is more than complex. Many hundreds or thousands of people can live in a very tall building, and getting the “packages” to them is a very serious logistical problem.
When that moment arrives, logistics experts must think of creative and easy-to-operate solutions. And I don't think that will be achieved in a short time.
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