Table 4 Cost elements of drones in LMD... | Emerald Publishing

Table 4

Cost elements of drones in LMD

Cost element	Explanation/examples	References
Drone hardware	Cost of the drone device (including its battery, motor, rotors, etc.) and its attachments (e.g. smart capsules, sensors, cameras, etc.)	Cheng et al. (2020), Ghelichi et al. (2021), Oakey et al. (2022)
Battery replacement	Cost of replacing old batteries with new ones – depends on battery lifetime, type (e.g. lithium-ion) and time needed for replacement	Asadi et al. (2022), Huang et al. (2022b), Li et al. (2022b), Oakey et al. (2022)
Battery charging	Cost of battery charging per hour – depends on the energy source, battery capacity and time needed for full charges	Asadi et al. (2022), Ghelichi et al. (2021), Oakey et al. (2022)
Maintenance and depreciation	Covers the warranty, maintenance and depreciation costs of the drone and its attachments	Dorling et al. (2017), Mohamad et al. (2020), Shavarani et al. (2019b)
Software and data usage	Cost of purchasing/subscribing to software for drone operations and navigation. Includes data usage cost	De Silvestri et al. (2022), Oakey et al. (2022), Shao et al. (2020)
Labor charges	Compensating laborers who operate drones, monitor them, resolve technical issues, fulfill orders and ensure safe operations. Covers recruitment, training and benefit costs	De Silvestri et al. (2022), Dhote and Limbourg (2020), Gunaratne et al. (2022), Oakey et al. (2022)
Regulatory compliance	Expenses to comply with operational, safety, privacy, ethical and environmental regulations. Covers cost of obtaining necessary licenses, registration cost, airspace charges, taxation, lobbying, etc.	Li et al. (2022a), Ben Dor and Hoffman (2022), De Silvestri et al. (2022), Oakey et al. (2022)
Insurance coverage	Charges paid to insurance firms to compensate for injuries caused by drones to people, damages (to drones, payloads, property, flying objects, etc.) and delivery delays	Lemardele et al. (2021), Oakey et al. (2022), Rao et al. (2016)
Supportive means of transport	For multi-modal delivery setups, such as operating drones with trucks. Covers cost of acquiring and operating trucks, drivers' wages, operating software, etc.	Gunaratne et al. (2022), Dukkanci et al. (2021), Sawadsitang et al. (2018)
Facility charges	Cost of constructing, renting and operating operational facilities, charging stations and warehouses in conjunction with drone service coverage	Ghelichi et al. (2021), Lamb et al. (2022), Shavarani et al. (2019a)

Cost element	Explanation/examples	References
Drone hardware	Cost of the drone device (including its battery, motor, rotors, etc.) and its attachments (e.g. smart capsules, sensors, cameras, etc.)	Cheng et al. (2020), Ghelichi et al. (2021), Oakey et al. (2022)
Battery replacement	Cost of replacing old batteries with new ones – depends on battery lifetime, type (e.g. lithium-ion) and time needed for replacement	Asadi et al. (2022), Huang et al. (2022b), Li et al. (2022b), Oakey et al. (2022)
Battery charging	Cost of battery charging per hour – depends on the energy source, battery capacity and time needed for full charges	Asadi et al. (2022), Ghelichi et al. (2021), Oakey et al. (2022)
Maintenance and depreciation	Covers the warranty, maintenance and depreciation costs of the drone and its attachments	Dorling et al. (2017), Mohamad et al. (2020), Shavarani et al. (2019b)
Software and data usage	Cost of purchasing/subscribing to software for drone operations and navigation. Includes data usage cost	De Silvestri et al. (2022), Oakey et al. (2022), Shao et al. (2020)
Labor charges	Compensating laborers who operate drones, monitor them, resolve technical issues, fulfill orders and ensure safe operations. Covers recruitment, training and benefit costs	De Silvestri et al. (2022), Dhote and Limbourg (2020), Gunaratne et al. (2022), Oakey et al. (2022)
Regulatory compliance	Expenses to comply with operational, safety, privacy, ethical and environmental regulations. Covers cost of obtaining necessary licenses, registration cost, airspace charges, taxation, lobbying, etc.	Li et al. (2022a), Ben Dor and Hoffman (2022), De Silvestri et al. (2022), Oakey et al. (2022)
Insurance coverage	Charges paid to insurance firms to compensate for injuries caused by drones to people, damages (to drones, payloads, property, flying objects, etc.) and delivery delays	Lemardele et al. (2021), Oakey et al. (2022), Rao et al. (2016)
Supportive means of transport	For multi-modal delivery setups, such as operating drones with trucks. Covers cost of acquiring and operating trucks, drivers' wages, operating software, etc.	Gunaratne et al. (2022), Dukkanci et al. (2021), Sawadsitang et al. (2018)
Facility charges	Cost of constructing, renting and operating operational facilities, charging stations and warehouses in conjunction with drone service coverage	Ghelichi et al. (2021), Lamb et al. (2022), Shavarani et al. (2019a)

Source(s): Created by authors