INTRODUCING THE 'DRAGONFLY' DRONE DELIVERY CONCEPT

Priestmangoode – a name worth nothing in the brave realm of transportation design – recently launched its vision of the near-future urban ecosystem. Basically, there would be many drones assigned to many different tasks, solving many problems. The flying drones would deliver packages via autonomous barges that act as mobile distribution points and charging situations.

For this brave new, technology-driven world, Priestmangoode has developed a flying, autonomous concept of its own, the strong, yet stylish 'Dragonfly'. According to the Priestmangoode co-founder, Paul Priestman, there are many issues with the current urban ecosystem: "The rise in online retail is adding more vehicles to already congested roads, contributing to poor air quality. Combine that with rapid population growth in our cities and we have a problem." These are just a few of the problems encountered when looking at the current, last-mile parcel delivery system.

With drone technology, it has a potential to keep up with the growing demand for delivery logistics, and it also has a positive environmental impact at the same time. But, like any radical innovation, the answer to the problem comes with its own set of concerns. In this case, a synergistic symphony of buzzing, overhead helpers may be temporarily replaced by another vision of the future: clunky, drone-scattered skies with a chance of packages showering to the ground. The concept was unveiled at the GREAT festival of innovation in Hong Kong, and Dragonfly was created specifically with this latter fear in mind.

"We wanted to create something that is non-threatening and which would enhance cityscapes," said Priestman. "This will be important in gaining public support for the future commercial use of drones".

It should come as no surprise – in fact, it is by careful design that Priestmangoode’s Dragonfly drones’ soft edges look less robotic than typical drones, and more like leaves floating in the wind.