Institute of Economic and Cultural Geography Institute News
Drone delivery for the northfrisian islands? – Master student Annika Path publishes thesis

Drone delivery for the northfrisian islands? – Master student Annika Path publishes thesis

© Schäfer, H., 2022
Supply ferry on Pellworm.

IWKG graduate Annika Path published a research article based on the results from her master’s thesis on the demand for parcel delivery via drones on the northfrisian island. The article investigates the supply of the North Frisian Islands and Halligen, which is strongly characterized by their dependency on tides, weather, and seasons. It examines whether supplying these difficult-to-reach areas with transport drones would have the potential to fill possible supply gaps to contribute to the alignment of living conditions with those of the mainland. A drone concept developed using existing shipping supply routes shows that the use of drones has the potential to improve the supply situation by supplementing existing shipping. However, qualitative interviews with stakeholders show that the use of drones is perceived rather skeptically. This shows that the acceptance of new technologies is a core challenge for the successful solution of supply bottlenecks by transport drones and needs to receive attention in addition to the investigation of the technical and economic feasibility of such concepts. The thesis was supervised by Dr. Kerstin Schaefer.

Path, A.; Schaefer, K. J.; Straubinger, A.; Habersetzer, A. (2022): Bedarf für die Paketzustellung durch Drohnen – eine Alternative für die Versorgung schwer erreichbarer Gebiete? Standort (2022). DOI: 10.1007/s00548-022-00825-y