Food Delivery, Lifesaving Missions and The Power of Innovation
The key to unlocking growth is so close you can almost touch it
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What happens to countries and cities regulations when they have growth and innovation at the forefront on their minds?
Poor regulations primary objective is to stop things happen, not start them. As most regulations appear to stop things it stands to reason that most regulation is poor. Removing much of it would therefore speed up innovation and we don’t even need to be elected to figure that out.
At this point in our development I expect to see drone deliveries and flying cars as an everyday part of the transportation infrastructure. They are already, to a degree, part of many businesses and peoples day to day in less obviously consumer facing settings. Weddings for example, flyovers for movies or TV shows and power line inspections. The technology is already in place to make these work, and work well. There are little to no deaths caused by (non-military) drones. Accidents are few and far between.
Compare this to road deaths from both commercial transportation and regular road usage and the results are eye opening. Over 39,682 (pre-covid) deaths in the US on the roads. Drones deaths worldwide that are non-military 0 (open to contradiction).
Emissions are a pain point for many and finding ways to decrease these, but not decrease the convenience we expect from life is challenging. It’s easy to implement policies that stop us using anything that is deemed bad for emissions, but we still want the things that are being banned for their utility. After all thats why we invented them in the first place. For example cars for transport, fires for heat, aircraft for travel. By simply banning or restricting these to the point of being impossible to use we are net negative. Drones and Electrical Vertical Take Off and Landing vehicles (eVTOLs) can remove vehicles from the roads, reduce pollution and bring in new infrastructure projects and growth, a net positive.
All this sounds very reasonable and if reason was the way to move things forward we would already be there. Telling people is not enough to change behaviour. What’s blocking us?
Who Are Cities Built For
When we look at the problem - a lack of drones and flying cars, which can demonstrably advance us, we see a number of issues.
Innovation
Risk and
Re-election.
Without trying things and innovating the risk of being wrong is very low. If you are not seen as wrong you are seen as a steady pair of hand and the right electoral choice. So, unless there are outliers who take a contrarian view to this the chances of getting innovation and therefore high growth is low.
It must be noted that there are some jurisdictions and local governments that see this and try to innovate. This must be welcomed, but they can be hamstrung by rules and regulations set by higher powers or other regulatory debt in the system.
However, this is not the case everywhere. Innovation offshores itself when the angles are too acute and the ties that bind entrepreneurs are too tight.
The City of Shenzhen
Since it’s designation as a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in 1980, Shenzhen has experienced exponential growth in terms of both population and businesses. Initially a small fishing village with around 30 thousand inhabitants, the city's population has jumped to over 12 million, making it one of the most populous cities in China. Shenzhen's transformation into a bustling metropolis has been nothing short of astonishing, with rapid urbanisation leading to the development of high-rise residential complexes, commercial districts, and a very modern infrastructure.
Shenzhen has witnessed an extraordinary surge in businesses. The city's SEZ status, combined with its advantageous proximity to Hong Kong, has attracted domestic and foreign enterprises. Shenzhen has become a magnet for innovative industries, particularly in the fields of electronics, telecommunications, manufacturing, and technology. This dynamic business environment has fostered an entrepreneurial spirit and a culture of innovation, propelling Shenzhen to the forefront of global technological advancements. What can we learn?
Drones For Everyday Use
Meituan, the Chinese delivery business, somewhat like Door Dash or Uber Eats but bigger, has introduced a drone delivery service in Shenzhen. Food orders are transported between skyscrapers and pickup kiosks. This approach has gained popularity due to high-rise apartment living and the demand for food delivery. To ensure efficiency in a dense city, the company has set up pickup kiosks near buildings, allowing drones to follow predetermined routes.
Meituan completed over 100,000 drone deliveries in 2022 and plans to significantly expand its service over the next few years. The process involves human runners retrieving food from restaurants and stores and passing it to drone operators. The aim is to automate the process further to minimise human involvement. The success of the drone delivery in Shenzhen can be attributed to supportive regulations, lack of individual property rights and an established drone manufacturing supply chain.
The vision is that drones complement human delivery workers providing value to customers. The potential for transforming urban areas, offering efficiency and convenience while working alongside humans is clear.
In many countries of course we could not accepted the heavy top down approach nor would we countenance government or private companies taking peoples private property rights, but we can learn from Shenzhen. jonthan@skytrades.io
Rwanda Blood Delivery
Zipline, a US drone company went to Rwanda in order to develop and show that drones work and have beneficial outcomes. The partnership between the Government of Rwanda and Zipline has made medical delivery using drones a reality. Over the last six years they have efficiently transported life saving blood and medical supplies to remote regional hospitals across Rwanda. With the government's support they will triple delivery volumes by establishing new drone delivery sites in rural and urban areas. The drones are launched within 90 seconds of receiving an order, swiftly reaching their cruising speed of 65 mph. The drones are autonomous and capable of operating day and night to navigate their way to the correct hospitals, ensuring accurate and precise deliveries. The drones have covered over 40 million miles in Rwanda and saved lives while offering an environmentally friendly alternative with minimal carbon emissions. The economics of which have been supported by the Rwanda state.
The results serve as a testament to the power of drones in improving access to healthcare and saving lives. With continued advancements, drones have the potential to revolutionise delivery and transportation systems on a global scale.
Drone Stunts
(Alphabet) Wing drone successfully dropped a package into Coors Field baseball stadium in Denver, highlighting the company's moves in autonomous drone technology. Wings drone delivery in Australia has dropped packages up to every 25 seconds in major cities.
This demonstration at Coors Field marked the first ever delivery to a professional sports stadium. There is a trend among companies like Amazon and Walmart to adopt drones for the efficient delivery of lightweight items, moving away from traditional road based methods.
Their focus lies in complementing existing ground-based delivery methods to move small packages efficiently over long distances.
The company talks up the efficiency of their drones, stating that the energy consumed in cooking a package of pasta exceeds the energy utilised for drone delivery. With compact dimensions of approximately 2 feet square. The delivery process involves gently lowering the package on a cable, which then automatically unhooks and retracts.
They envisions a future where fleets of drones are readily available for businesses to make immediate deliveries to customers, returning to charging docks between flights. The efficiency of the drones, reported to be 10 times more efficient than electric vehicles and 50 times more efficient than gas-powered ones, showcases the potential impact of drone delivery can have on local communities. Local communities hold the key in their air rights for enabling drone companies to scale. Rights they can register with www.skytrades.io
Learning From Success
The potential of drones to revolutionise delivery and transportation systems is immense. To realise this potential in countries like the United States requires robust safety regulations, which the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have, and the cooperation of air rights owners which SkyTrades are taking care of. Countries and cities that embrace growth and innovation as a positive force pave the way for the widespread use of drones and the associated benefits to society. While some jurisdictions want heavy regulations that impedes innovation, others recognise the benefits and actively support the development of drone technology to the delight of their citizens. Which jurisdictions are going to win and where will people want to go, set up businesses and raise families?
Success stories of cities like Shenzhen in China, where drones are already being used for various purposes, and Rwanda, where drones have transformed medical supply delivery, serve as powerful examples.
By fostering supportive regulations, ensuring individuals rights are respected and encouraging innovation we can embrace the transformative power of drones. This creates a future where drone deliveries and flying cars are a seamless part of our everyday life.
Air rights owners are the key and they are using SkyTrades to assert their rights. Jonathan@skytrades.io