Expert Column Analysis of Trends in Drone-based Warehouse Management, Domestic, International Operational Cases

Over the past decade, the global logistics industry has been researching and advancing efficient and safe warehouse management through the utilization of new technologies amid the sweeping trends of automation and digital transformation. Within this evolution, drone technology has progressed far beyond simple outdoor video filming or inspection, achieving significant advancements that enable its use within the confined indoor spaces of warehouses. Notably, since 2015, the practical deployment of deep learning techniques has spurred remarkable progress in artificial intelligence-based navigation, indoor positioning, and computer vision technology. Consequently, a technical foundation has been established that allows autonomous drone flight even in indoor environments where GPS (Global Positioning System) signals are unavailable.

1. Development of Drone Technology and Its Industrial Applications

A drone is an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) operated remotely via wireless communication without an onboard pilot. Drones may follow a pre-programmed route (auto-piloted) or be semi-auto-piloted according to selected flight paths.

Drones first emerged in the early 2000s, originally for military purposes. Initially employed by the United States Air Force as targets for missile bombing exercises, their roles gradually changed to attack and reconnaissance drones. Their principal advantage lies in the absence of an onboard pilot, allowing real-time enemy monitoring and even bombardment capabilities. Consequently, the United States began actively deploying drones as military weapons in the mid-2000s, commonly referred to as UAVs.

The United States developed the first drone in 1917 for military use. Early missions involved loading approximately 100 kg of ordnance onto the unmanned aircraft for combat operations. In the early 1930s, the United Kingdom’s UAV Queen Bee achieved the first round-trip flight, earning recognition as a pioneering drone. During World War II, Germany’s V-1—a self-destructing drone—inflicted substantial civilian casualties and property damage. The first unmanned reconnaissance aircraft deployed in the Vietnam War was the U.S. Fire Bee drone, produced in 1951, whose primary task was reconnaissance. ^[1]

Although drones categorized as UAVs have existed since the Cold War era, their transition from strictly military applications to diverse civilian fields is a relatively recent phenomenon. Drones have been engineered in various configurations to suit different purposes, including atmospheric measurements and numerous societal infrastructure surveys. ^[2]

2. Drone Utilization as a Transportation Means

Beyond military objectives, drones are employed for weather data collection and forecasting, media coverage (e.g., sports broadcasting, overseas exploration, accident scene documentation), agricultural research, advertising, and the delivery of essential supplies such as rescue equipment or pharmaceuticals to disaster zones.

Internationally, global logistics providers such as DHL and e-commerce platform Amazon have expanded drone usage for cargo delivery and pursued commercial implementation. Nevertheless, challenges related to security concerns and technical refinements remain significant obstacles.

In 2013, Amazon unveiled “Prime Air,” a service that equips drones with GPS for parcel delivery and conducted test flights. The service’s guiding principle is to deliver any shipment within thirty minutes, covering distances up to sixteen kilometers. By 2017, Prime Air succeeded in executing drone deliveries, generating heightened interest throughout the distribution and logistics sectors and fostering expectations for widespread drone commercialization. The image below depicts Amazon’s Prime Air.

[Image of Amazon’s Prime Air] (Source: Bloomberg)

A study based on Amazon’s Prime Air service and the Flying Donkey project in Africa notes that Amazon’s Prime Air delivers customers’ orders by drone. Media outlets and social networks continue to evaluate the service as being successfully executed.

In addition, Africa’s Flying Donkey is preparing a project to transport medicines by drone to remote inhabitants who are difficult to reach by ground. These examples illustrate sectors where drones have already been applied in real life or are being prepared for such use. Although regulations and standards for drone operation remain unresolved, the technical aspects of drones positively affect safety and efficiency. ^[4]

Furthermore, research examining the environmental impact of drones has compared the carbon emissions of drones used in the final stage of logistics delivery with those of trucks and electric vehicles, thereby highlighting the eco-friendly attributes of drones. ^[5]

In 2015, Amazon requested operational approval from the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) to commercialize its service. On 22 June 2017, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) received a patent application from Amazon titled “Multi-Level Fulfillment Center for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.”

According to the filed patent, a drone fulfillment center is a long cylindrical building equipped with dozens of drone access doors, allowing multiple drones to load cargo and deliver simultaneously, designed for takeoff and landing. ^[6]

[Design Drawing of a Drone Fulfillment Center] (Source: United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO))

In 2014, DHL successfully developed the Parcelcopter, a drone designed for automated flight to deliver parcels to remote areas, which passed testing for pharmaceutical delivery.

In its early stages, drone technology served primarily as a solution for cargo delivery (parcel delivery industry), but it has gradually expanded into warehouse management systems within logistics centers.

This technological shift has opened a new paradigm for inventory management tasks traditionally performed by human labor in warehouses. Numerous global corporations and research institutions have begun actively exploring the potential for drones, alongside autonomous ground robots, to become core tools in warehouse automation. Initially, drones performed highly limited functions—such as manually piloted barcode scanning or rack label inspection—and attracted interest because they could replace workers performing tasks at heights. However, large-scale commercialization was hindered at that time by collision risks, positional inaccuracies, and limited battery endurance.

In August 2019, ETH Zurich published the whitepaper “Whitepaper: Applications of drones in warehouse operations,” which systematically categorised and analysed drone roles inside logistics facilities. The paper divided drone tasks into three categories—Inventory Management, Intra Logistics, and Inspection & Surveillance—providing a foundation for viewing drones as integral components of a robotic system.

[Three Application Areas of Drone-based Warehouse Management] (Source: Wawla, 2019 Whitepaper)

The whitepaper also suggested that using drones for warehouse management yields the most effective results in relatively large facilities that are at least five metres high, feature long aisles, and store items without overlapping stacks. ^[7]

[Characteristics of Drone-based Warehouse Management] (Source: Wawla, 2019 Whitepaper)

Since 2019, the advent of drone‑based indoor inventory‑survey solutions has swiftly reshaped the role of drones within industrial fields. Swiss company Verity has commercialized SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping)‑based indoor autonomous‑flight technology, enabling night-time inventory surveys in the large warehouses of global manufacturers. In the United States, Corvus Robotics utilized MIT‑based technology to establish a system that allowed regular inventory surveys even in “lights‑out” warehouses. European firm EYESEE and Germany’s inventAIRy XL likewise are likewise offering specialized solutions that ensure stable imaging and data collection despite outdated rack structures or metal‑dense surroundings.

The adoption of these solutions has fundamentally transformed the traditionally labor‑centric inventory process, and they have rapidly proliferated among manufacturing and retail enterprises in North America and Europe, where labor costs are high and workforce availability is limited.

[Drone Images of Swiss Verity, European EYESEE, and Germany’s inventAIRy XL] (Source: Respective company webpages)

3. Current Utilization of Drones in the Global Logistics Industry

The drone utilization observed abroad is primarily focused on inventory management within logistics warehouses. Drones take off from autonomous charging stations, navigate between rack aisles, capture images of barcodes or labels, read RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) signals, and, through computer vision technology, analyze the storage conditions of pallets or bins. The collected data are then integrated in real time with existing Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) such as SAP and Oracle, thereby reducing inventory discrepancies and increasing the frequency of cycle counting (the practice of periodically verifying specific items’ physical stock against recorded quantities to maintain inventory accuracy). In this process, drones safely substitute for work at height and acquire precise data even in spaces that are difficult for personnel to access. In many overseas logistics centers, drones now scan designated zones at night on a daily or weekly basis, while humans review the data and handle any exceptions, reflecting a shift in roles.

A concrete overseas example is Verity of Switzerland, widely regarded as the most representative commercial success. The company offers a SLAM‑based solution that performs autonomous take‑off, flight, landing, charging, and reporting in dark, unlit warehouses without GPS. It is reported to be capable of autonomous flight between racks spaced merely 20–30 cm apart, recognizing the warehouse structure and navigating without additional markers or beacons.

Haleon, a global healthcare firm known for brands such as Sensodyne and Panadol, has adopted Verity’s solution, reducing inventory mismatches and achieving 99.8 % inventory accuracy. Consequently, its on‑time, complete delivery rate has consistently risen above 95 %. Moreover, the drone solution has enhanced warehouse worker safety; the need for workers to climb high shelves repeatedly to scan barcodes—a source of safety incidents—has been markedly diminished. In the United States, Corvus Robotics, originating from MIT technology, has drawn attention with a system capable of operating in “lights-out warehouses.” At LAPP USA’s facility in Indiana, the introduction of Corvus drones cut inventory‑survey time by more than half and improved inventory accuracy, thereby accelerating order‑processing speed. In Europe, platforms such as EYESEE —which detects delays, risks, and anomalies early and even provides predictive insights—have been evaluated positively for enabling drone operations in aged or structurally complex warehouses. EYESEE optimizes label capture and image‑based inventory analysis functions, allowing drones to function effectively in challenging storage environments.

4. Cases of Drone Utilization in the Domestic Logistics Sector

Although South Korea’s adoption is relatively slower compared to overseas, meaningful cases have been emerging gradually over the past few years. Korean logistics companies are active in adopting automation equipment and robots, but due to ambiguous regulatory interpretation and safety standards, drones often remain in test stages rather than large‑scale deployment. Among them, Company A is known to have begun drone‑based inventory management experiments as early as 2016. The firm has conducted research and development of drones dedicated to distribution centers. ^[10]

In addition, the government announced in April 2017 that it would maximize the efficiency of maintenance and safety for social infrastructure and public facilities by utilizing IoT and drone technologies. ^[11]

Company B’s distribution center showcased smart logistics technologies that combine drones with smart glasses. They announced plans to build an efficient and competitive smart logistics system by enabling rapid and accurate inventory management with drones and providing workers with smart glasses. ^[12]

Company C took a different approach, focusing on facility inspection and safety management rather than inventory control. As C’s distribution center has high racks and a complex interior layout, many zones are difficult for humans to access. As a result, pilot tests were conducted using drones to continuously monitor electrical equipment that poses risks of fire and to inspect structural changes of high racks. The drones were also equipped with thermal imaging cameras to enhance monitoring capabilities at night.

Companies A, B, and C are operating the systems within distribution centers — handling only domestic goods, not bonded goods — for inventory management purpose (e.g., item types, expiration dates). Drones equipped with cameras fly pre‑programmed routes inside the warehouse, capture images, and transmit them to a central computer to compare inventory on the system with actual stock. As drones can inspect cargo at high locations, they reduce the manpower and time required for inventory checks. A limitation, however, is that the operation is restricted to domestic goods rather than bonded items. ^[3]

Incheon Port Authority announced in 2021 a project titled “Development of an Automated Drone‑Based Warehouse Inventory Inspection Service.” The project aims to lower inventory inspection costs, improve data accuracy, and visualize inventory locations by operating an AI‑driven fully autonomous drone in the warehouse management system. It announced in late 2022 that the warehouse inventory inspection entered the demonstration phase. ^[13][14] Incheon International Airport Corporation also employed drones for safety inspections of working at heights that would be dangerous for human workers.

[Image of Incheon New Port Container Terminal] (Source: Incheon Port Authority)

5. Development and Challenges of Drone‑Based Warehouse Management Technologies

The achievements and limitations that have emerged as drone‑based warehouse management technologies spread allow meaningful analysis from both technical and economic perspectives. First, the most notable achievement is the improvement in inventory accuracy. By aggregating reports and research results from various overseas companies, it is shown that applying a drone‑based inventory scanning system can raise inventory accuracy from about 93% with human inventory checks to 98-99%. ^[9] This ultimately leads to higher order accuracy, reduced lead times, and smaller safety stocks, and thus contributes to logistics cost reduction.

Drones also replace working at heights performed by human workers, reducing safety incidents, and night time automation improves workers’ rest and working conditions. During periods of labor shortages, drones can partially alleviate the manpower burden.

However, technical limitations remain. The most prominent point is short battery life, which makes it difficult to scan an entire large warehouse in a single flight. To address this, multiple automatic charging stations must be installed or several drones must be operated simultaneously, which will increase equipment costs and operational complexity. Label recognition rates are not perfect either; damaged barcodes and RFID signal reflected from metal racks remain unresolved challenges.
A more critical issue is integration with WMS/ERP systems. Collecting data with drones alone is meaningless unless it is linked to real‑time inventory management systems to transform overall operating processes. Therefore, global companies tend to approach drone adoption not as a “technology project” but as an “warehouse operation innovation project.”

Regulatory and policy environments are also key variables for drone technology diffusion. Indoor drone flight often falls into a regulatory gap due to limited application of national aviation laws. In South Korea, companies adopt a conservative stance regarding safety, noise, insurance, and liability issues, delaying large‑scale commercialization. In contrast, Europe and the United States have rapidly developed indoor drone operation guidelines through collaboration among private insurers, regulators, and industry; Singapore and the UAE incorporate drone inventory management equipment into national smart logistics strategies and are conducting pilots.

Considering these global and domestic trends, drone‑based warehouse management technology is expected to evolve in several directions: First, advanced multi‑drone collaboration. Currently, a single drone typically scans one zone, but future systems will have multiple drones cooperatively covering the entire warehouse for efficient flight.

Second, sensor fusion advancements. Combining barcode, OCR (Optical Character Recognition), RFID, 3D (Three-Demensional) vision, and LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) will largely address label recognition problems and distortion caused by metal structures.

Third, higher integration with warehouse management systems. Several academic papers and consulting reports forecast that drones will evolve from simple scanners to components of intelligent digital twin warehouses linked with AGVs (Automated Guided Vehicles), AMRs (Autonomous Mobile Robots), robotic arms, and automated storage systems.

For Korea, if policy support and pilot expansions continue, global-level technology adoption could accelerate. Korea possesses strong foundations for ICT (Information and Communication Technology) and robotics, and substantial large‑scale logistics hub capabilities, making it well‑suited for drone‑based warehouse management. Government initiatives such as Smart Logistics Center Certification System, digital logistics transformation policies, and automation projects at airports and ports could amplify the impact of drone deployment.

Moreover, if universities, companies, and the government cooperate to provide long‑term testbeds in demonstration centers, industrial adoption could be expedited.

In summary, drone‑based warehouse management systems have already entered the commercialization stage overseas and are gradually expanding their scope in Korea as well. If the three pillars — technology maturity, policy revision, and organizational readiness in industry—develop in balance, drones are likely to become a core asset in distribution center operations. Ultimately, drone technology is not merely a “flying camera,” but a digital transformation technology that reshapes warehouse workflows, representing a strategic turning point for Korea’s logistics market.

Prof.

Baik Namjin

(Current) Professor at Duksung Women's University
Main Research Areas:

• - Empirical Study on Establishment of
  Air Cargo Logistics System utilizing Drones
• - Impact Analysis of Transportation Service
  Factors on Satisfaction in Drone Delivery
• - A study of Location based Air Logistics Systems
  with Light-ID and RFID on Drone
  System for Air Cargo Warehouse Case
• Writing : Theory of Air Cargo
  Transportation Business
  (Air Transport
  Logistics Service Industry)

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