Drones will do for logistics what the Internet did for communications and payments, says Svilen Rangelov, CEO and co-founder of Dronamics. The Bulgarian businessman and his brother Konstantin, an aerospace engineer, are on a mission to leverage advances in autonomy, aerodynamics and production to democratise air freight and accelerate e-commerce in emerging markets. Rangelov says cargo drones, if done right, will eliminate the need for cargo to go extra miles transiting through hubs, and will instead see that it's sent to the destination directly from the origin. Having developed a worldleading cargo unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or drone that can transport 350kg at a distance of 2500km more cheaply than any aircraft in existence, Rangelov says it translates to same-day delivery across the whole of Europe or North America. “Heavy-lifting cargo drones will be able to mitigate a number of challenges within the logistics industry,” he says. This includes the increased demand for faster delivery. “Technology must follow purpose and not the other way around – and that is maybe why drones have not taken off as much as they can.” Speaking to FTW on the side lines of a conference in Cape Town recently, Rangelov says the future, however, is online and on demand. “Speed is going to be a matter of survival. Currently two-day shipping is pretty standard delivery time for prime customers on online platforms. At least one in ten purchases at present are online, but by 2022 that will have changed to one in five. The winners will be those who can deliver the fastest at the best rate.” His argument is pretty simply. “Anyone can deliver the same pair of shoes. Remember, the customer has paid for those shoes already when he made the purchase. He wants them now. The proof will be in who can deliver those shoes the cheapest, fastest and in the most convenient way.” According to Rangelov drones are probably the only way of meeting that consumer demand. “There have been challenges with cargo drone operations to date, but designs are getting smarter and the pros are starting to outweigh the cons. Also, advances in battery life is making it more accessible as it is becoming cheaper to manufacture batteries.” He says there is no way that drones cannot be beneficial to transportation systems. “Personally I don’t see the very big drones that are able to carry thousands of kilogrammes being the big player in all this. These large drones need long runways and some sort of landing ability. It is also a more costly operation.” For Rangelov, medium-sized drones are the differentiator. Having opted for a fixedwing UAV, which addresses the common complaint of noise for multi-rotor drones, a short runway of only 400m is required which can be any paving, stretch of road or even patch of grass. “In Bulgaria we will be able to deliver any cargo weighing less than 350kg by no later than 6pm on any given day if it was ordered before 12pm on the same day.
INSERT: In Bulgaria we will be able to deliver any cargo ordered before 12pm and weighing less than 350kg by no later than 6pm on the same day. – Svilen Rangelov
