Drones, ride sharers could team up for package delivery
Tuesday, September 11, 2018 - 14:10
in Mathematics & Economics
In the future, when you hail an Uber or take the bus, you might not only be sharing the ride with another traveler, but perhaps with a drone out on delivery as well. That is the vision of Naira Hovakimyan, professor of mechanical science and engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, who is leading a six-person, three institution (Illinois, Stanford, South Carolina) $1 million National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to see if drones and existing ride-sharing vehicles (RSVs) can provide synergetic delivery service in urban areas. The likes of Amazon, UPS, and the United States Postal Service are eagerly awaiting the outcome.