• July 24, 2017

    PacTrans PI Makes Headlines for Research on Drone Delivery

    New research from PacTrans PI and UW Professor Anne Goodchild is making headlines. The paper, which will be published in the upcoming issue of Transportation Research part D, explores carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and vehicle-miles traveled (VMT) for two logistics delivery models: one by trucks and the other by drones. Using a combination of ArcGIS and emission standards, they found that emission results are highly dependent on three factors: the energy requirements of the drone, the distance the drone must travel, and the number of recipients it serves. The take away: when service zones are close to the depot, have small numbers of stops, or both, drones are likely to provide a CO2 benefit.

    Dr. Goodchild and her lab study freight transportation and logistics. In recent years, there has been much speculation about the role that drones may play in delivery of parcels and their ability to cut down on the number of delivery vehicles that drive on the road. This subject has significant implications to mobility, which is the focus of PacTrans.

    For more, the paper can be found here, and news articles can be found at Geekwire, Eurasia Review, NanoWerk, Digital Trends, Trucks.com,  TechCrunch, King 5, International Business Times, Drone Magazine, New Atlas, Supply Chain Dive, The Drive, and Anthropocene.