A leading expert in drone technology has called on the Government to save lives and cut strain on the NHS by replacing delivery vans, trucks and HGVs with battery-powered drones.
Robert Garbett, founder of Drone Major Group, has said it’s “glaringly obvious” that the use of drones in the UK’s most polluted cities can rapidly and economically improve the quality of air we breathe and mitigate the lethal consequences of air pollution.
And he’s said the UK can become a world leader here by addressing the status quo where approximately 89% of all goods transported by land in Great Britain are moved directly by road transport.
Garbett said: “The UK has the knowledge to become the global driving force in drone technology, starting in our largest cities, potentially with a pioneering maritime drone initiative in London on the river Thames that would decarbonise the city’s logistics and freight industry. The technology is available now and the huge health, environmental and economic benefits to the UK and its public should be a priority.
“This technology can be deployed in any city with a river in the UK, and beyond. Its adoption will dramatically reduce the number of delivery vehicles on our roads, massively improve air quality, reduce congestion, make roads faster and more efficient, and improve our wellbeing.”
According to Garbett, a maritime drone delivery system on the Thames would not require any new building infrastructure and would instead involve maritime drones carrying freight, to travel along the river to a series of pontoons “equipped appropriately for lifting freight onto shore”.
This would tackle air pollution, dubbed a ‘silent killer’ and responsible for killing seven million people per year globally and shaving over two years off the average life expectancy.
Garbett also pointed to research published in the scientific journal Patterns that found a single delivery of a package by drone accounted for 84% less greenhouse gas emissions than a diesel truck and used 94% less energy.
“An end to the disastrous impact of poor air quality on our health, the environment and our economy impact is plain to see! If we implement maritime drone technology systems in our major cities, we can clean up our air, future-proof our vital logistics industry and capitalise on one of the UK’s biggest opportunities for growth in clean technology.
“The longer the UK takes to act on the solution to air pollution, the greater health and environmental risk the British public will face.”
