There was TED talk[1] a few months ago about some guys using the exact same tech to build a "matternet" in africa and south america to combat washed out roads.

There was TED talk[1] a few months ago about some guys using the exact same tech to build a "matternet" in africa and south america to combat washed out roads. Their estimate was that to move a 2kg load over 10km would cost roughly $.24. This includes fuel, initial purchase price of the drone (3k or so) and wear and tear. In their system, they use elevated platforms where the drones could drop off packages/change batteries. If feasible, this solves the distance problem. They estimated that to cover a 140km square area, it would cost 900k, require 50 towers and 150 drones. [1] http://www.ted.com/talks/andreas_raptopoulos_no_roads_there_s_a_drone_for_that.html http://www.ted.com/talks/andreas_raptopoulos_no_roads_there_...