Unlocking the UK drone market

Speedier and greener deliveries are promised with the latest generation of drones carrying small parcels and medical equipment over long distances in remote locations. 

But beyond the excitement and cutting-edge technology of uncrewed aerial drones lies a raft of standards, guidance and regulations that needs to keep pace if we are to unlock the economic benefits of drones. 

Decoding this complexity is Connected Places Catapult, which has recently helped to compile three reports following a drone trial in Scotland as part of Project CAELUS  – or Care and Equity Healthcare Logistics UAS Scotland, where drones were introduced to carry medical goods. 

The reports present a strategic outline business case for the project; provide an understanding of the economic impact of drones for healthcare in Scotland; and offer a roadmap for a national medical drone logistics network. 

“Through a series of programmes, we have tested the regulations and identified barriers to growth and the adoption of technology in the drones sector,” explains Connected Places Catapult’s Ecosystem Director for Air Mobility & Airports, Andrew Chadwick. 

The Catapult is continuing to promote the commercial potential of drones used for delivering small packages, and has also been exploring their use for other applications such as the inspection of infrastructure assets.

“The technology around drones is well known and largely understood, as are the operational aspects. But there has been less of a focus on the business cases, commercial opportunities and social considerations until now.” 

Connected Places Catapult’s Ecosystem Director for Air Mobility & Airports, Andrew Chadwick

Recent programmes supported by Connected Places Catapult to further the country’s understanding of the potential for drones include Project CAELUS as well as other Future Flight Challenge projects Project Skyway and InDePTH, plus a Drone Pathfinder Catalyst project for the Department for Transport, which included the use of drones by Network Rail. 

Scottish medical drone trial explored

Over the past two years, Project CAELUS considered how drones could be adopted by NHS Scotland to deliver medical samples between hospitals in Edinburgh and Melrose in the Scottish Borders. A temporary flight corridor was created; working collaboratively with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) where airspace was reserved for drones during their flight. 

Connected Places Catapult’s Senior Systems Engineer, Tom Levermore says CAELUS helped to “build a body of evidence” for the regulator as to how drone operations could work alongside other air traffic in future. Combining the live flight trials with virtual simulations, the consortium showed how the airspace integration concepts would work. 

Further work carried out by the Catapult on the project involved matching different types of drones to the most common size of packages for delivery. 

CAELUS also helped stakeholders to better understand perceptions of drones amongst the public. It considered how best to consult with communities and explored what an increase in services might mean for them in future.

“The project found that if the public knows what a drone is being used for, they tend to be more accepting; especially if it’s for medical use,” Tom says. “We also explored people’s perception of drone noise, and how that varies depending on elevation. If services are well planned, the public aversion to drones may not be as large as some first thought.”

“The CAELUS business case report covers the costs of using drones and the experiences of the client, and explored how they might change in future,” explains Tom. “The idea is to better understand the real economic and social case for operation, and how routes might be used for other medical deliveries, making even stronger business cases for their adoption.”

Drawing on outputs from other programmes 

In addition to the recent trial in Scotland, Project Skyway aimed to understand public perceptions associated with flying drones beyond visual line of sight along drone ‘superhighways’ in the sky. Another project called InDePTH focused on the use of drones in ports and for the highways sector. 

Elsewhere, the Drone Pathfinder Catalyst programme looked to understand the potential for and challenges with flying drones beyond visual line of sight. This programme was performed on behalf of the Department for Transport. It considered use cases beyond package deliveries such as monitoring coastal erosion, overseeing the application of fertiliser on farms, reducing the need for railway workers to carry out inspections, and helping with mountain search and rescue operations. 

More broadly, the programme showed what can and cannot be achieved with drones, and provided a forum for sector representatives to meet, understand and share lessons, and hear views on developments from Government and regulators. Public engagement exercises also helped to analyse what several thousand people thought about the use of drones, giving useful feedback to operators.

“Drones can make a real difference for deliveries to remote communities, and give them confidence that they can get the services they need,” says Tom. “But beyond that, there's a lot of activities that happen outside of the public view that would be really beneficial from drones, such as critical national infrastructure inspections that don't necessarily grab the headlines.”

Tom Levermore, Senior Systems Engineer, Connected Places Catapult

Andrew adds: “We talk about the three Ds covering why you might want to use a drone. They cover activities that are either dull, dirty or dangerous for people to carry out, such as for the maintenance and surveying of transport or energy infrastructure. 

“Because there are so many opportunities, I'm really positive about the potential for growth in the use of drones,” he adds. “A lot of work goes on behind the scenes between the Catapult, the Department for Transport, the Civil Aviation Authority and operators to explore the case for more of them to be used and how we safely integrate them into airspace. 

“I'd like to think that within a few years, we will see many more drones in the sky and companies using them as part of their business.” 

Find out more about Project CAELUS, read the three recent reports, read about a postage delivery trial on Orkney, and watch a video on the use of drones as part of the InDePTH project.