Kunovjanek Maximilian, Wankmüller Christian
Department of Operations, Energy, and Environmental Management, Universitaet Klagenfurt, Universitätsstraße 65 - 67, 9020, Klagenfurt, Austria.
Transp Policy (Oxf). 2021 Jun;106:141-152. doi: 10.1016/j.tranpol.2021.03.015. Epub 2021 Apr 3.
The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly altered common social and economic patterns as governments all over the world have been forced to take drastic measures to counter the spread of the disease. Among them, quarantine, the closure of borders, and social distancing are the ones that have affected transportation systems most severely. With the clear need to avoid all unnecessary direct human contact, an increased interest in contactless transportation and delivery modes emerged. Drones are a promising alternative in this regard, especially for the delivery of essential goods, such as COVID-19 viral tests. In this study, we therefore investigate how drones can be used to distribute viral tests to potentially infected patients. The novel approach that we propose is to use existing drone infrastructure to perform this task, where drones owned and operated by different public and private entities are retrofitted for the distribution of essential goods in the case of emergency. In a wider sense, we hence suggest the establishment of a drone enabled back-up transport system. Potential performance gains are analyzed through a mathematical time and cost model that was developed in close cooperation with the state Red Cross Organization and a utility drone manufacturer. Process design as well as parameter estimation are based on empirical investigation including, but not limited to, accompanying a COVID-19 mobile testing team in the field. The practical feasibility was verified by retrofitting drones initially assigned to other purposes. Additionally, policy recommendations, such as the establishment of public-public and public-private partnerships, were identified.
新冠疫情已深刻改变了常见的社会和经济模式，因为世界各国政府都被迫采取严厉措施来应对疾病的传播。其中，检疫、边境关闭和社交距离措施对交通系统的影响最为严重。鉴于明确需要避免一切不必要的直接人际接触，人们对非接触式运输和配送模式的兴趣与日俱增。在这方面，无人机是一种很有前景的选择，特别是用于运送诸如新冠病毒检测试剂等基本物资。因此，在本研究中，我们探讨了如何利用无人机向潜在感染患者分发病毒检测试剂。我们提出的新方法是利用现有的无人机基础设施来执行这项任务，即对不同公共和私人实体拥有和运营的无人机进行改造，以便在紧急情况下分发基本物资。从更广泛的意义上讲，我们因此建议建立一个基于无人机的备用运输系统。通过与州红十字会组织和一家民用无人机制造商密切合作开发的数学时间和成本模型，分析了潜在的性能提升。流程设计以及参数估计基于实证调查，包括但不限于在实地陪同新冠病毒移动检测团队。通过对最初用于其他目的的无人机进行改造，验证了实际可行性。此外，还确定了一些政策建议，例如建立公共-公共和公共-私人伙伴关系。
