Low-Cost Autonomous UAV-Based Solutions to Package Delivery Logistics

Abstract

Advancements in technology serve to eliminate inconvenience from our lives since the dawn of mankind. Today, one of the problems in automation is to tackle the logistics behind package delivery using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). To further this area of engineering, we have attempted a solution of our own, using a geographical information system based on QR address codes and an automated dispenser. The drone, equipped with an ADS-B module and a gripping mechanism, lands near the shipment, where it is located by a camera on a package feeder. A 2DoF extension arm directs the payload underneath the vehicle, where the UAV can easily intercept the package and analyze its address code for delivery destination. We found this approach to be economically rewarding, easy to implement and possible to modify for big-scale scenarios.