Ethical Issues

Drone Package Delivery

Foreseeable Misuses:

• People think the drone is a "cool toy" and interferes with its route (grabbing it, throwing things at it, etc.).

• The drone is too loud and annoys the public.

• Certain parts of the drone can hurt/can be used to hurt someone else.

• People are able to easily steal a package that the drone is carrying.

• The drone is looked at by the public as more of a gimmick instead of a viable delivery option. 

  • It does not deliver the packages at a faster rate than human delivery, which would do harm to the public's opinion on the drone.

  • It would also do harm to the delivery worker's opinion on the drone, as a slower drone that would hypothetically replace the workers would not bode well. 

Solutions:

• Design the drone to be able to fly at greater heights to mitigate potential damages from people messing with it. 

• Make the delivery process be a contactless, drop off delivery so that the customer does not have a chance to touch/damage the drone.

• Have the drone go through rigorous testing so that drone delivery can be seen as a viable and possibly better alternative to human delivery.

• Either:

  • Create the drone with parts in mind that would help lessen the possible endangerment of a customer if they were to mess with the drone.

  • Create algorithms for the drone to eliminate all human contact (besides the person who loads the drone with the package).