What is Droneport Project?

What is Droneport Project?

The concept of Droneport was first brought forward by Jonathan Ledgard, who came up with it in Ecole Polytechnic in Switzerland. He approached Norman Foster for the project since he had experience in airport design and knowledge as a pilot of aircraft, helicopters, and sailplanes (Heathcote, 2016). In this project, a new typology in the building is presented, which is expected to grow into an ambiguous presence in the future. It is expected to be more like petrol stations which are now dispersed all over for road traffic. The infrastructure has a strong sense of civic presence and is based on the use of knowledge sharing platforms.

What it entails

Droneport allows for the safe landing of drones in densely populated areas. It also includes a digital fabrication shop, health clinic, e-commerce trading hub, and a post courier room, making it become part of the local community (Heathcote, 2016). Initially, the project was aimed at helping in the delivery of medical supplies in addition to other resources in areas difficult to access. In areas with poor network and road infrastructure, access and provision of critical amenities are a bit challenging, thus the need for the project. It will also allow for infrastructure and services set up meant to support research, entrepreneurship, and innovation in both manned and unmanned aviation (Heathcote, 2016). Besides, it facilitates a guarantee for segregated airspace, which allows demonstrating and testing new applications to customers as well as pilot training. Also, they have specialized testing grounds for given UAV applications like safety, agriculture, logistics, and construction. It is also developing a 15ha industry park meant for the UAS industry and aerospace industry. The core idea is to act less, and a curved brick structure with limited floor space can easily be integrated by the local community (Kasarda, 2017). Depending on the needs of a particular location and advances in drone technology, multiple vaults can be combined to form a flexible space. The drone port will also become a drone manufacturing center, which will deliver employment opportunities to residents. By providing architectural knowledge to the local people, the project seeks to leave a legacy that leads to more change than the building itself (Sales, 2016).

The impact of Droneport project on airlines, agents and airport service providers

Drones are already actively involved in the transport sector. They promise to provide important and highly innovative services in passenger transport, freight delivery, and disaster relief. The potential impact of the Droneport project in the general aviation industry is yet to be fully unleashed. Studies are currently done to address the potential impact it may bear in the industry. Fundamental studies show that freight drones for passengers and goods might constitute both a negative and positive impact in the industry. Drones disruption will extend beyond the aviation industry. It will challenge the transport sector as a whole.

The drone industry is expected to be a multibillion-dollar industry in the next five to ten years, which will negatively impact the aviation industry. It is an obvious source of competition in the aviation sector. A 2018 global survey by Blyenburgh (2018) showed passenger drones as a growing sector and projected for the use of drones in market sectors such as maintenance, construction, and sensing to be stable. Besides, the year 2020 will have twenty times more drones than manned aircraft. This will mean a drop in revenue flows for airlines. However, this may not be witnessed so fast since people may not be yet ready to fly in pilotless craft, although most piloting is already automated.

In experiments, drones can carry people, packages, and deliver humanitarian aids as well as supporting other transport needs. Finally, fully automated drones can replace manned aircraft, especially for cargo and passenger transport along the established routes. The high use of drones for leisure serves as an indicator of market readiness to take in drones for commercial purposes.

The current workforce in aviation will be impacted negatively. The aviation industry employs close to 9.9 million people (ATAG, 2016). Airliners and air navigation service providers will be impacted negatively upon the introduction of drones. However, new job creation for drone pilots is expected to rise to 20%.

The positive and negative environmental impacts of drones

Urban and city authorities face a new set of challenges and opportunities with the introduction of this new reality, yesterday’s fiction. It is expected to alleviate pressure on ground transportation leading to speed in connectivity. With the invention of drones, the global man-made CO₂ emission from the aviation sector is expected to increase from the current 2% to 3% (Stolaroff et al.  2018). Either the fuel consumption will increase in the aviation industry.

Change in noise volume from the aviation sector is another considerable challenge to be considered. With the increased use of drones in the cities, more volume of noise is expected. The urban noise volume is expected to exceed the required or legal limit (Obaid et al. 2015). Evidence shows that their high pitched volume will annoy significant cities.   The problem at hand remains how to approach the incomplete aircraft noise regulation, given that the cost drone operation will be higher than in the case of airplanes.

Moreover, drones will have a negative large scale impact on night-time light pollution and vibration (Obaid et al. 2015). This will affect both humans and wildlife. This will mean an essential assessment before taking up a case on drone regulation. Besides, little research has been done to assess these impacts, which means that more funds ought to be allocated in this area of study. More funds for research, as well as public consultation, will be needed to gain a better understanding of potential challenges.

Another mega issue is the possible impact of large scale drone operation on property rights as well as compensatory and protective measures.

The potential positive impact of drones will be offloading congestion in urban areas. It is expected to offer fast and easily accessible means of transport (Obaid et al. 2015). Reduction in congestion is expected to lead to better air circulation and healthy environmental conditions.

Security impacts of drones

A key concern in drone invention is protecting them from Cybersecurity risks. Drones can be a target for cyber-attacks, just like they can also be used for attacks. Drone jacking has been identified as a quickly growing form of security threat (Cavoukian, 2012). A concept on drone hack was demonstrated in the underground hacking conference in which hackers, government agencies, and corporations meet each year. These meetings show the latest hacking methods and means to counter it. Each drone has installed firmware, which includes built-in security features. These features include maximum attitudes as well as location-specific features like no-fly zones. All these information sets ought to be protected from possible modifications.

In addition to the unauthorized party controlled flight path upon hacking a drone, the drone could also be fitted with hacking software. Hacking party has the potential of setting a drone towards a collision route (Cavoukian, 2012). Besides, a drone could be used in the collection of data from private businesses or homes. It can perform this through landing on a roof, and an attempt to break into a wireless network then transmits the data to the hacker.

It is easier to hack drones as opposed to the internet of things devices. Drones are designed to have easy and quick access and setup in addition to open ports and unencrypted communication. Another security risk that ought to be considered in drone usage is illicit use like in terrorism acts or the use of sensor-equipped drones in espionage acts.

How that affects their presence in the Middle East in the coming future

Recent drone strikes against Saudi infrastructure or even the shooting of a US drone in the Persian Gulf region is a major Middle East issue when it comes to drone technology. The US has tried to curb the spread of the unmanned systems which the Middle East has responded through the production of their own (Callam, 2010). Regions that produce their own include Turkey, Israel, and Iran. The use of drones is also expected to lead to conflict escalation in the Middle East and other parties.

Unmanned technology will be a more significant part of the inventory for most militaries as well as other runs (Callam, 2010). Other states outside the Middle East are trying to secure them as well. Iran has now taken up a variety of this military version.

Drone technology is also expected to change the way people perceive transport and logistics shortly as well. The fact that they can be used to mask the identity of bombers remains a global challenge (Custers, 2016). For instance, drones in September 2019, drones made headlines in which they flown at low levels to evade Saudi Arabia air defense forces and knocked down nearly 6% of the world’s oil supply. Up to the moment, it is not yet known who did this act. Thus uncertainty is the core a critical part of drone use in the globe.

Terrorist attacks are major scenarios that the future in the Middle East and other areas around the globe will have to deal with.

References

Stolaroff, J. K., Samaras, C., O’Neill, E. R., Lubers, A., Mitchell, A. S., & Ceperley, D. (2018). Energy use and life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of drones for commercial package delivery. Nature communications, 9(1), 409.

Kasarda, J. (2006). Airport Cities and the Aerotropolis, viewed 3 April 2017.

Cavoukian, A. (2012). Privacy and Drones: Unmanned aerial vehicles (pp. 1-30). Ontario: Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario, Canada.

Obaid, M., Mubin, O., Basedow, C. A., Ünlüer, A. A., Bergström, M. J., & Fjeld, M. (2015, October). A drone agent to support a clean environment. In Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Human-Agent Interaction (pp. 55-61). ACM.

Sales, N. J. (2016). American girls: Social media and the secret lives of teenagers. Vintage.

Callam, A. (2010). Drone wars: Armed unmanned aerial vehicles. International Affairs Review, 18(3).

Custers, B., (2016). Future of Drone Use. TMC Asser Press.

Heathcote, E. (Ed.). (2016). The Droneport Project. Archipress et Associes.