SUMMER SCHOOLS

The summer school was organised as a Blended Intensive programme (BIP) with a physical and a virtual part.

In the virtual part, we presented the futuristic vision of drone deliveries to the participants. The idea is that in the future autonomous drones will make last-mile deliveries.

At the faculty, we developed a platform for autonomous deliveries. However, there are still many unknowns in the legislation to be adjusted to make it a reality.

We also prepared for the participants an overview of the currently successful use of drones, which takes place mainly on the African continent and in the transport of medical supplies.

We also dedicated the virtual part to the presentation of the work in the physical part of the BIP.

The physical part of the BIP took place within the framework of two subjects under the joint title The new logistics reality: delivery with drones.

The estimation is that drones reduce delivery time by 50%. Traditionally, road transport has been the backbone of the logistics industry. But the transition into Industry 4.0 is changing this tradition. Drones have been in the delivery business for some time now, but they need to be autonomously controlled to fully function as a last-mile delivery method. We need a real-time platform to deploy and manage a fleet of drones to achieve that.

In this subject, we’ve dealt with delivering packages with appropriate packaging with drones in real-time and we acquainted participants with the platform for food package delivery.

They also gained knowledge in the field of postal services in connection with delivery by drones.

While the current regulations still restrict drone use in everyday commercial activities, the introduction of U-space opens future possibilities. While the EU regulations are set for U-space use, various challenges still need to be addressed before drone flight can be used safely and efficiently.

The students gained knowledge in using unmanned aerial vehicles for commercial purposes. They now know all the technological, security, and legal obstacles and requirements. We presented in detail the concept of U-Space and got to know the U-Space solution developed by us.

This year’s BIP would not have been possible without cooperation with the partners Pošta Slovenije and the company OneDrone, who gave us insight into the practical use of drones and the possibility of autonomous driving. The participants were particularly enthusiastic about trying to fly drones themselves.

The two subjects were interconnected. Participants had to prepare a joint presentation of the issue at the end.

We wanted them to gain insight into the operation of drones, regulations and restrictions through lectures and field trips. They had to make a delivery plan for small, medium and large packages around the city of Celje. They had to prepare which part of the regulation should be changed, how the delivery corridors should run, who would control the routes, how many platforms they would have or how they would connect them.

The participants prepared excellent final group presentations and gave exciting solutions.