An exploratory study on the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in transportation: drone transportation and its applications

Along with technological developments, there have been significant developments and applications in the field of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) recently. The adaptation of UAVs, which are used a lot especially in the military field, to commercial life is rapid. UAVs, which have helped to achieve great success in various applications such as military surveillance and monitoring, telecommunications, health and rescue operations, have also started to take an active role in logistics operations through drones. The integration of e-commerce into daily life has increased the need for innovative solutions in logistics operations. In this context, businesses have started to prefer drone transportation in order to respond to customer demands uninterruptedly and quickly. With drone transportation, it has become possible to make shipments to locations where access is difficult, traffic congestion is intense and infrastructure deficiencies have not been completed yet. When the relevant literature is examined, it is seen that the studies on the examination of this transportation activity implemented in recent years are limited. In this study, the conceptual framework of drone transportation is explained and its use in logistics enterprises is explained with applications. Through this exploratory research, it is aimed to eliminate the deficiencies in the literature. While this study shows the reflections of drone transport on the industry for academics, it aims to set a vision for practitioners. As a result of the research, it has been determined that although drone transportation is a newly developed process, its use in logistics enterprises and operations has increased rapidly and will increase its importance in the near future.