The buzz from above

The drones can quickly scan each stack and, when their power is low, return to the nearest charging station. While the thinking behind the system is certainly interesting it’s the figures quoted in the article that will certainly raise an eyebrow or two… “Between 2003 and 2011, the U.S. Army lost track of $5.8 billion of supplies among its warehouses,” says Fadel Adib, the Sony Corporation Career Development Assistant Professor of Media Arts and Sciences, whose group at the MIT Media Lab developed the new system. “In 2016, the U.S. National Retail Federation reported that shrinkage — loss of items in retail stores — averaged around $45.2 billion annually. By enabling drones to find and localize items and equipment, this research will provide a fundamental technological advancement for solving these problems.” Since the article was published in 2017 the technology has progressed even further. In 2020 Californian technology company Ware launched “the first warehouse inventory automation system built on Skydio 2, the world’s smartest drone.” While not the first of its kind, the considerable investment in this sector and subsequent rapid advancement of technology means that such systems are going to be increasingly within reach for everyday use. With innovation in tracking and packaging, goods are being shipped safer, faster and with far more efficiency. Who knows what helpful technology will arrive tomorrow?