To go further, these drones take the bus

As drone delivery becomes a reality in cities across the country, range has emerged as a frequent limitation. But what if a drone could lift off with a package, and—instead of flying the whole route—lands on a passing bus, rides across the city, and then completes its route?

This unconventional approach is the focus of new research at Carnegie Mellon University, where engineers are exploring how drones can “hitchhike” on existing public transit systems to extend their range within their battery power.

A new study from Costa Samaras and Jeremy Michalek looks at landing drones on existing transit infrastructure, like buses, to conserve energy and more efficiently move toward a destination. By using this method, drones can effectively reach across an entire city without exhausting their power supply.

“Drones can reach their destinations quickly, but they have a limited range,” said Michalek, professor of engineering and public policy and mechanical engineering. “The ability to hitchhike enables them to reach a wider radius than if you had to rely on the drone’s battery alone.”

This method of transportation is ideal for urgent and light loads across urban terrains where traditional transportation might be stalled by gridlock. Practical applications could include immediate blood transfers between hospitals, delivering critical medicine to places where traditional road transportation would be inaccessible, or even speeding up food delivery times.

Despite significant promise, there are multiple regulatory hurdles. The Federal Aviation Administration is currently considering how best to manage drone flights beyond the visual line of sight of the operator, which could enable broader use of package delivery drones. However, Samaras views this research as “precursor work” for the delivery technology landscape 10 to 20 years in the future.

The novelty here is the ability for a drone to land on something, charge, and take off again. It could be a bus, a building, a power line, or a UPS truck.

Costa Samaras, Director, Wilton E. Scott Institute for Energy Innovation

“The novelty here is the ability for a drone to land on something, charge, and take off again. It could be a bus, a building, a power line, or a UPS truck,” said Samaras, professor of civil and environmental engineering and director of the Wilton E. Scott Institute for Energy Innovation.

This project was part of a larger Department of Energy funded effort, drawing on Carnegie Mellon’s interdisciplinary expertise. Aaron Burns, the lead author of this new study, brought his experience from the Air Force to manage the complex logistics and operations involved in future technology.

While the concepts work theoretically, the physical infrastructure is the next step. Michalek notes that while patents for connection points exist, the hardware must still be engineered to handle mechanical locking, automated charging alignment, and the scheduling of multiple drones on a single vehicle.

As the demand for rapid delivery surges, so does the pressure for infrastructure innovation. Whether it’s assisting in wildfire management or delivering emergency medicine, this type of drone technology offers a high-efficiency solution for a faster-paced world.