Potential applications of unmanned ground and aerial vehicles to mitigate challenges of transport and logistics-related critical success factors in the humanitarian supply chain

Muhammad Azmat,Sebastian Kummer

doi:10.1186/s41180-020-0033-7

Abstract

The present decade has seen an upsurge in the research on the applications of autonomous vehicles and drones to present innovative and sustainable solutions for traditional transportation and logistical challenges. Similarly, in this study, we propose using autonomous cars and drones to resolve conventional logistics and transport challenges faced by international humanitarian organizations (IHOs) during a relief operation. We do so by identifying, shortlisting, and elaborating critical success factors or key transport and logistics challenges from the existing humanitarian literature and present a conceptual model to mitigate these challenges by integrating unmanned ground (UGVs) and aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the humanitarian supply chain. To understand how this novel idea of using UGVs and UAVs could help IHOs, we drafted three research questions, first focusing on the identification of existing challenges, second concentrating on remediation of these challenges, and the third to understand realization timeline for UGVs and UAVs. This lead to the development of a semi-structured, open-ended questionnaire to record the respondents’ perspectives on the existing challenges and their potential solutions. We gathered data form, ten interviewees, with substantial experience in the humanitarian sector from six IHOs stationed in Pakistan and Austria. In light of the feedback for the second research question, we present a conceptual model of integrating UAVs and UGVs in the relief chain. The results of the study indicate that technological advancement in mobility withholds the potential to mitigate the existing challenges faced by IHOs. However, IHOs tend to be reluctant in adapting UGVs compared to UAVs. The results also indicate that the adaptation of these technologies is subject to their technical maturity, and there are no significant differences in opinions found between the IHOs from Pakistan and Austria.

Highlights

The last few decades have seen an unprecedented amplification in the number and complexity of disasters worldwide (Tatham and Houghton 2011; Richey et al 2009)
Followed by the discussion on potential applications and challenges of using unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in relief operations, we present a succinct case of using UAVs in Papa New Guinea (PNG) to help the reader understand how the relief operation works in a real-life scenario
This study had a bi-fold objective, first to identify the key logistical and transportation challenges faced by international humanitarian organizations and second to asses if these challenges could be mitigated using advanced mobility solutions like UGVs and UAVs

Summary

Introduction

The last few decades have seen an unprecedented amplification in the number and complexity of disasters worldwide (Tatham and Houghton 2011; Richey et al 2009). Literature review This section briefly highlights the functioning of a humanitarian supply chain, followed by some of the most important transport and logistics related to CSF It briefly elaborates on the potential applications of UGVs and UAVs in relief operations and briefly discusses the challenges in the realization of these applications. It may be noted that CSFs like donor restrictions, host government policies, limited resources, lack of transport infrastructure, blocked supply lines, custom and clearance issues, limited transport vehicles, workforce shortages, information collection, organization’s structure, and culture, and coordination and collaboration are some of the most discussed CSFs in the humanitarian literature These CSFs are mainly highlighted in last decade by the authors like (Azmat et al 2019a; Dasaklis and Pappis 2018; Yadav and Barve 2018; Bealt et al 2016; Dale and Dulaimi 2016; Ngwenya and Naude 2016; Kabra and Ramesh 2015a; Costa et al 2012; Martinez et al 2011; Balcik et al 2010). For this study we will focus mainly on the transport and logistics-related CSFs under discussion in humanitarian literature (Table 2)

Findings

Analysis and discussion

Conclusion