The retail industry is already facing an inevitable and significant transformation worldwide, and with the current pandemic situation, it is even accelerating. Indeed, consumer habits are shifting from brick-and-mortar stores to online shopping. The bottleneck in the end-to-end online shopping experience remains the efficient and quick delivery of goods to consumers. In this context, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology is seen as a potential solution to address cargo delivery issues. Hence, the number of cargo-UAVs is expected to skyrocket in the next decade and the airspace to become densely crowded. To successfully deploy UAV technology for mass cargo deliveries, a challenge remains to provide seamless and reliable cellular connectivity for command and control of highly mobile and flexible aircraft. There is an urgent need for organized and "connected" routes in the sky. Like highways for cargo trucks, 3D routes in the airspace will be required for cargo-UAVs so that they can fulfill their operations safely and efficiently. We refer to these routes here as "3D aerial highways". In this paper, we thoroughly investigate the feasibility of the aerial highways paradigm. First, we discuss the motivations and concerns of the aerial highway paradigm. Then, we present our vision of the 3D aerial highway framework. Finally, we discuss related connectivity issues and their solutions.

中文翻译：

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3D 空中高速公路：零售业转型的关键推动力

零售业已经在全球范围内面临着不可避免的重大变革，而且在当前的大流行情况下，它甚至还在加速。事实上，消费者的习惯正在从实体店转向网上购物。端到端在线购物体验的瓶颈仍然是向消费者高效快速地交付商品。在这种情况下，无人机 (UAV) 技术被视为解决货物交付问题的潜在解决方案。因此，预计未来十年货运无人机的数量将猛增，空域将变得更加拥挤。要成功部署无人机技术以进行大量货物运输，仍然面临着为高度机动和灵活的飞机的指挥和控制提供无缝且可靠的蜂窝连接的挑战。迫切需要有组织和“连接”的空中航线。就像货运卡车的高速公路一样，货运无人机也需要空域中的 3D 路线，以便它们能够安全高效地完成其操作。我们在此将这些路线称为“3D 空中高速公路”。在本文中，我们彻底研究了空中高速公路范式的可行性。首先，我们讨论空中高速公路范式的动机和关注点。然后，我们展示了我们对 3D 空中高速公路框架的愿景。最后，我们讨论了相关的连接问题及其解决方案。