A Cyber-Physical System's Roadmap to Last-Mile Delivery Drones
Bruno S. Faiçal, César Marcondes, Denis S. Loubach, Elton F. Sbruzzi, Filipe Alves Neto Verri, Johnny Marques, Lourenço Alves Pereira, Marcos R. O. A. Máximo, Vitor Curtis
Abstract
According to recent studies, unmanned aerial vehicles can play a game-changing part in cost reduction and speed increase to address the last-mile delivery problem and attend to emergencies. Last-mile delivery services are becoming more and more relevant, especially when in times when social distance is required. However, a systemic view of how to provide a feasible solution to enable this application as a vertical market in the urban context is still inexistent. Given this scenario, this article contributes by proposing a cyber-physical system roadmap applicable to last-mile delivery drones. The proposed cyber-physical system (CPS) guidelines are based on a system's ability to enhance an operation toward smart cities’ governance. This article also discusses topics from air–space control and reservation to communication infrastructure and decentralized control supported on a blockchain.