Logistics sites hold high-value goods in trailers and yards that are hard to watch around the clock. A drone-in-a-box keeps a drone in a weatherproof base station on site, flies patrols on a schedule and lets an operator check alarms from the air. Nestua's software platform is functional in development builds; the drone and base station hardware are still being built.
- TAPA EMEA recorded more than 108,000 cargo thefts in the EMEA region from 2022 to 2024.
- Yards, trailer parks and long fences are where fixed cameras leave gaps.
- A drone adds patrols and alarm checks outdoors; it does not replace FSR-style CCTV, alarms or access control.
- Staff on site make GDPR and, in some countries, works council approval part of the project.
How big is cargo theft in Europe?
The Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA EMEA) runs the largest incident database for the region. In a February 2026 statement with the marine insurers' association IUMI, it reported more than 108,000 thefts from supply chains in over 110 EMEA countries between 2022 and 2024. Only about 5% of these reports included a loss value. Those alone totalled more than €1 billion, which is over €1.3 million a day. Real losses are therefore far higher. Major incidents of €100,000 or more averaged €878,525.
Much of this happens on the road and through fraud, such as fake carriers. Facilities are targets too, and TAPA's monthly reports regularly list "theft from facility" as an incident category. Its Facility Security Requirements (FSR 2023) standard sets the baseline many shippers expect. That baseline includes perimeter barriers of at least 1.8 m around cargo yards, colour or day/night CCTV covering the exterior sides with openings and the dock areas, and alarmed doors.
Why do fixed cameras and guards leave gaps at logistics sites?
- Yards change every hour. Parked trailers create new blind spots that a fixed camera plan cannot predict.
- Large outdoor areas. Overflow parking, container stacks and long fences along fields or rail sidings are expensive to cover with poles and cabling.
- Guard time. A guard on a yard round is away from the gatehouse, and a round takes time. At night a single guard cannot see the whole yard.
How would a drone-in-a-box patrol work at a distribution centre?
One Nestua edge node controls one drone. The security team uses a browser cockpit, which can also be installed as an app. It shows a live map with the drone's position, heading and trail, satellite imagery of the yard, and mission and geofence overlays.
- Out-of-hours patrols. The mission editor lets you build waypoint routes over the trailer yard, fence line, fuel area and overflow parking, and upload, start or stop them from the browser. Time-window policies can restrict flights to the hours when the yard is quiet.
- Alarm verification. When a fence, door or camera alarm fires, the operator sends the drone to the spot with a go-to command. Low-latency WebRTC video plays in the browser, with HLS as a fallback and a selector for multiple video sources. Commands are confirmed by the drone's MAVLink acknowledgement. Integration with a specific alarm or VMS product is a project question.
- Geofences. Polygon or circle no-fly zones keep the drone off public roads, neighbouring units and staff areas such as canteens and smoking shelters. A breach blocks the command or triggers return-to-launch.
- Person and vehicle rules. YOLO-based detection runs on the NPU of the on-site NXP i.MX 8M Plus edge computer. Rules can notify the operator, start a recording, hold the drone in a hover over the detection, or return it to launch. Rules are rate-limited and audited, and they respect safety policy and geofences.
- Evidence for insurers and police. Local ring-buffer recording with clip export, and recordings can carry telemetry subtitles. The event journal and command log can be exported.
- Multi-site. Each site runs on its own edge node. The optional cloud links several sites into a fleet for a central security team.
Why does offline-first matter at a logistics site?
Distribution centres often have good internet, but security should not depend on it. Thieves can cut cables or jam signals, and many shippers prefer that yard video does not leave the site. In Nestua, flight control, missions, video, detection and the audit log run locally on the edge node. Uploading recordings off-site is disabled by default. Remote access is off until an admin enables it with re-authentication. Remote control can be limited further by time windows, drone state or confirm-local approval. Read more on offline-first security drones.
What privacy and drone rules apply at warehouses?
- Employees. The EDPB notes that employees at work generally do not expect to be monitored by their employer. Because of the power imbalance, employers should in most cases not rely on consent. Member State law or works agreements may set specific rules (GDPR Article 88). Define the purpose as security, not performance monitoring, and document it in a DPIA.
- Works councils. In Germany, the works council has a right of co-determination over technical devices designed to monitor employee behaviour or performance (§ 87(1) no. 6 BetrVG). Other countries have their own consultation rules.
- Neighbours and roads. The EDPB says cameras protecting premises should generally not watch neighbouring premises or public areas. Geofences and patrol routes should reflect that.
- Flight rules. Automated beyond-visual-line-of-sight patrols normally need a specific-category operational authorisation under Regulation (EU) 2019/947. Sites near airports or in urban areas may also fall inside national geographical zones. See EU drone regulations.
This page is general information, not legal advice.
What should a logistics security manager evaluate?
- Which outdoor areas the drone should cover, and which stay with fixed CCTV under your FSR or customer requirements.
- How patrols interact with trucks, yard tractors and people moving at night.
- Flight time, battery swap cycle, night imaging, and wind and rain limits. Ask for evidence.
- Integration with your alarm receiving centre and video management system.
- The DPIA, signage, retention periods and the works council agreement.
- Your airspace situation: nearby airports, urban zones and the authorisation route.
- Who can view or export clips, and how chain of custody works for evidence.
Sources
- TAPA EMEA, "IUMI and TAPA EMEA warn of escalating cargo theft and freight fraud", Feb 2026: tapaemea.org
- TAPA, Facility Security Requirements FSR 2023: tapaemea.org
- EDPB Guidelines 3/2019 on processing of personal data through video devices, paras. 37, 47–48: edpb.europa.eu
- Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR), Arts. 35 and 88: eur-lex.europa.eu
- German Works Constitution Act (BetrVG), § 87: gesetze-im-internet.de
- Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/947: eur-lex.europa.eu