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How the city streets of the future could be in the skies

How the city streets of the future could be in the skies

Crystal Tau explains why brands are starting to look up

Urbanisation continues to accelerate, as cities increasingly become dominant drivers of the global economy. Whilst the majority of the global population are city-based, cities currently only occupy around 1% of our planet’s surface (Our World in Data). In today’s current COVID-19 world, the lockdown appears to be accelerating the need for new ways of transportation and delivery.

It would seem that our population has not fully utilised another dimension – the skies above. Aside from aircrafts, the skies are mostly empty and this opens up opportunities with strong potential such as our Amazon deliveries. Already today, 39% think their city is so congested that it needs a road network in the air for drones and flying vehicles. (Ericsson 2018 Consumer Trends, PR Newswire – Drone Market Report 2019)

Where we are today

Nesta’s innovation foundation, the Flying High Project report to have ‘the most comprehensive database to date of the UK’s civic and commercial drone industry’ (Nesta) and they created an interactive map that reveals the diverse ecosystem that is currently active all across the UK.

As of March 2020, The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) released updated figures which report that there are 5,870 approved commercial operators of Small Unmanned Aircrafts (CAA) from an extensive range of companies. These are two indicators which prove how this technology has already started to enter a large number of sectors and industries.

What are brands doing?

Before COVID-19 drove up demand, brands were already starting to look at how they deliver their goods to consumers and we saw an emergence of companies experimenting with robots and drone technology. In the USA, FedEx collaborated with Walmart and Pizza Hut to test last-mile delivery robots (UK Reuters). In the UK, Starship Technologies have been operating commercially since Q4 2018, with robots now delivering food to almost 200,000 residents in Milton Keynes (BBC News). Consumers are changing the way they shop and adapting to new ways to receiving delivered goods.

Currently, as many people remain in their homes, COVID-19 has changed the pace of change in the drone sector. Last month, drones delivered medicine in rural Ireland (BBC News), essential PPE for the NHS in the Isle of Wight (BBC News) and disinfected streets in Dubai (Gulf News). Drones have also been delivering humanitarian interventions in Malawi (UNICEF), and in Singapore we’ve seen drones take ideas from land to ship (MarineLog). Uber Eats even want to use a drone delivery service that will use their own airspace management system, tracking their drones and notifying consumers when their order is arriving – nifty eh?

There are other players too. Jaguar Land Rover has developed a system that launches a drone from a car to support search and rescue. Leeds University is researching the use of drones that 3D print asphalt for automated street repairs, whilst GoodSAM is also looking at ways to deliver defibrillators to heart attack patients by drone.

Are we seeing challenges in regulations?

For drone technology to reach its full potential there will need to be new regulations to ensure safe operation and to overcome numerous challenges in areas such as national security, environmental protection, disturbances in public areas, etc.

As this technology is still in its primary stages, UK regulations are limited. With developments in this space moving at speed, this carries a number of opportunities and risks. Governments across the globe will need to act quickly to be at the forefront of the drones market and the successful integration into the airspace and their countries.

What are the implications for media?

From a media and marketing perspective, content has and will continue to evolve. Given the flexibility of drones, they have already opened up new ways of filming in cinematography, journalism and news coverage. This will also change the future of live entertainment and have already seen this demonstrated from Intel’s drone light show during the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.

Sport content filmed from new heights will also change the perspective in which consumers view sport entertainment, offering brands new ways to reach their consumers. Drones not only offer the convenience of physically delivering products to consumers’ doors, but they can also distribute samples and reach audiences in different environments (concerts, festivals, sports stadiums and beyond).

As this trend continues to develop, brands should start to identify how drone technology can enhance their products and services.

However, these will need to be suitable in a COVID-19 and post-COVID-19 world for long-term success. They need to consider where the biggest prospects lie in minimising human contact and how consumer behaviours will continue to change once the pandemic is over.

There is an unlimited potential for creativity in our industry, and this will continue to evolve and co-exist over our heads.

 
Crystal Tau is account director, Spark Foundry

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