Commercial drones moving cargo beyond small amounts of pharmaceuticals are inching closer in the US.
The authorities there are considering proposals for drone corridors, and FedEx is targeting 2023 for trials of the Chaparral autonomous aircraft between its sort centres.
There are two main ways to move freight internationally – by air and by sea. While sea freight is 13 times less expensive than air freight, it is also 50 times slower. Aeronautics start-up Natilus hopes to change this dynamic by developing an autonomous cargo aircraft that can offer the speed of air freight at a cost closer to that of sea freight. If successful, the result could lead to a dramatic disruption of the freight industry.