The Future of Warehouse Automation: Will Drones Ever Take Off?

Abstract: Background: In recent years, manually controlled drones have taken off on the commercial market, as well as in the agricultural industry and in humanitarian logistics. This has increased the interest in investing in autonomously controlled drones to increase efficiency and reduce costs. Some projects have been initiated in warehouses but the research in the field is still limited. Purpose: The purpose of this master thesis is to examine how autonomous drones are used and why they are not used to a greater extent for automating warehousing activities. Research Questions: RQ1: How can autonomous drones be used to improve warehouse operations and activities? RQ2: Why are autonomous drones not used to a greater extent within warehousing operations today, and what challenges and benefits do they bring? Methodology: The thesis is based on a Delphi study made in three rounds, consisting of an iterative process of interviews and surveys. It involved a total of 15 experts which were divided into two panels, representing the drone technology and warehousing experts. Conclusion: Autonomous drones are most suitable for automating the inventory management process in a warehouse. The usage of them in warehousing is increasing due to a relative advantage compared to other solutions in terms of costs, efficiency, and flexibility. However, due to the technology not being mature enough yet, and since the use cases still being limited to a few ones, the usage of them in warehousing is still relatively limited.