GEODIS, Delta Drone plan to roll out warehouse drone system this year

Today, the logistics industry is a step closer to fulfilling warehouse optimization fanatics’ fantasies. Logistics company GEODIS and French unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) maker Delta Drone have released a new timeline for their UAV system, which replaces the need for human labor in the inventory-warehouse setting.

The partnering companies are now entering the industrial production phase of the project after two years in development and say the system will be fully operational by the end of 2018.

In a statement from the companies, the system is described as “plug and play” — meaning it can be implemented into various facilities without having to mold each warehouse’s configuration to accommodate the system. Once installed, the drones are designed to be fully independent, autonomously charging on a “robot-equipped” ground base. The system also comes with a quadcopter drone that is equipped with four high-definition cameras to monitor the security of the bots and the warehouse, enabling managers to keep an eye on operations at all times.

The companies claim the system will be a cost-effective investment due to its potential to minimize labor costs and maximize production, as the drones are able to operate at all hours of the day and require no human supervision.

The timeline for a return on investment, however, is still to be determined, considering that installation will likely come with significant initial costs once this product hits the market. But it seems inevitable that drones are the new frontier of inventory-related labor.