Top 5 airfreight logistics tech trends for 2018
UAVs: Not just for last-mile anymore
Small drones designed to deliver small, high-value commodities, such as pharmaceuticals to remote hospitals, have been around for years, and all of them are hampered by the same restrictions from most world regulatory agencies that ban their use beyond line-of-sight piloting and above a few hundred feet, out of concern for public safety. It’s a major issue, and it may not be solved for some time.
But the types of drone aircraft being discussed this year are not the same as the little quad- or hex-copters favored by hobbyists. For 2018 the discussion will shift to much larger machine, capable of carrying larger payload several kilometers away.
The announcement earlier this month that Boeing’s deep aviation pockets were putting muscle behind vertical take-off and landing UAV’s has reinvigorated the industry. Several other firms, including Sabrewing Aircraft Co., Natilus and China’s  JD.com are working on large, fixed-wing prototypes that can fly hundreds of kilometers to remove areas that may not have adequate infrastructure. UAVs, though largely grounded by regulation, are at least growing up.
