Design consultancy PriestmanGoode has unveiled its vision of future cities where drone technology will help combat the rising problems of traffic congestion and environmental pollution.
At the GREAT Festival of Innovation in Hong Kong last month launched Dragonfly, their concept of an integrated drone delivery system for urban areas.
Dragonfly is designed to support the growing demand for delivery logistics triggered by the global e-commerce boom.
Addressing the Future of Travel panel session during the launch of Dragonfly, Paul Priestman, co-founder and chairman of PriestmanGoode explained how cities can be adapted to accommodate drone technology.
Drones could help to relieve congested roads in urban areas, and solve the last mile parcel delivery challenge, he said.
Observing how the online retail trade is adding more vehicles to already congested roads, and contributing to air pollution, he said drone technology has the potential to power delivery logistics in the future in an environment-friendly way.
Non-threatening parcel delivery
PriestmanGoode’s concept also addresses concerns associated with packages flying overhead by creating a parcel delivery system that is less robotic and very non-threatening.
PriestmanGoode’s vision also includes using autonomous barges on rivers as mobile distribution points and charging stations with the Dragonflies picking up their parcels, passing between buildings with soft analogue movements, and docking on landing pads on the sides of buildings, and on the rooftops.
According to Priestman, the e-commerce industry is already trialling deliveries using drones.
However, their Dragonfly concept goes a step further by imagining cities of the future being adapted to accommodate drone technology.
For example, buildings could be designed to enable access from different levels, and not just the front door while the banks of rivers will be used as major transport corridors supporting the delivery of the drone network.
“We wanted to create something that is non-threatening and which would enhance cityscapes,” said Mr Priestman.
“This will be important in gaining public support for the future commercial use of drones.”
New documentary movie
The concept will feature in a new documentary movie – ELEVATION – about drones created by online design magazine Dezeen.
Marcus Fairs, founder and editor-in-chief of Dezeen said: “Drones have the potential to revolutionise not just the way goods are delivered in cities but also, eventually, how people travel, the way buildings are constructed and the way cities function. “Our short documentary will be the first movie that explores the way drones could transform our lives.”
The full-length, 20-minute documentary will be premiered this month.
A trailer can be found at: www.dezeen.com/elevation
