Autonomous aerial robotics for package delivery: A technical review

Abstract

Small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have gained significant interest in the last decade. More specifically these vehicles have the capacity to impact package delivery logistics in a disruptive way. This paper reviews research problems and state-of-the-art solutions that facilitate package delivery. Different aerial manipulators and grippers are listed along with control techniques to address stability issues. Landing on a platform is next discussed which encompasses static and dynamic platforms. Landing on a dynamic platform presents further challenges. This includes delayed control responses and poor precision of the relative motion between the platform and the aerial vehicle. Subsequently, risks such as weather conditions, state estimation, and collision avoidance to ensure safe transit is considered. Finally, delivery UAV routing is investigated which categorizes the topic into two areas: drone operations and drone–truck collaborative operations. Additionally, we compare the solutions against design, environmental, and legal constraints.