That'll work until these get popular: https://www.droneshield.com/dronegun
Oh man, let's just hope pistols and ski masks don't get popular or delivery drivers are going to need to watch out.
Amazon has made its first drone delivery to an actual customer
161–170 of 204 posts
Re: Amazon has made its first drone delivery to an actual customer
#162Earlier quoted context omitted.
Cost of specialized drone wherehouse in remote England: $1.2mm Cost of 3+yrs of R&D of drone fleet: $436mm Cost of delivering first package: priceless I'm not sure how this is ever going to compare with a truck and driver, especially when the truck will be self-driving in less than a decade.
How's that self driving truck going to get the package to the door?
Slingshot. :)
Re: Amazon has made its first drone delivery to an actual customer
#163Earlier quoted context omitted.
>so won't work in a city, since the payload is unsecured after the drones drop it off My building's roof is at least as secure as its lobby.
From everyone else in your building? What's top stop the guy in 5B going "Hey... package... thanks" I see a huge uptick in stolen packages. Heck the drones themselves would make a nice parts source flying free over the city. Just have to pick off a couple of them now and then. I think the point when this becomes in any way practical is really really far off. Interesting demo for sure but pretty sure I'll never have s…
Most apartment buildings without a doorman already have this going on, and have for years. My building has a pile of amazon boxes everyday by the front door
Re: Amazon has made its first drone delivery to an actual customer
#164I feel like this is a stunt. Drone delivery only works with customers that have private backyards - so won't work in a city, since the payload is unsecured after the drones drop it off. In a suburban/rural context, density is lower, meaning that with the limited range of drones, distribution centers won't be able to take advantage of density. Thus the range of products available at each distribution center will be mu…
In Seattle, at least, it's very common for apartments to have tiny private balconies. If a drone can deliver to one of those, it will be more convenient than trying to deal with the average apartment complex's mailroom.
This sounds interesting but there are at least some problems to overcome to make it practical.
How does the drone identify apartment 5b from 4c?
Most balconies like that in my area (Omaha) have another balcony on the next floor up in roughly the same size and shape. How reliable are the flight algorithms when dealing with cielings? How does that affect airflow?
What happens when a drone gets the wrong balcony?
What happens when a drone delivery is canceled because of patio furniture, potted plants, incorrect patio dimension from the local record keepers or whatever other problem with a private landing platform?
None of these are insurmountable, they just haven't been surmounted yet.
Re: Amazon has made its first drone delivery to an actual customer
#165Earlier quoted context omitted.
At 400ft up, you're not going to hear a thing. Would wager that even if I told you it was there you would not be able to locate it in a timely manner, let alone be annoyed by it.
Isn't 400 their max ceiling by regulation? Presumably they don't want to breach their operating rules so actually fly somewhat below this?
Probably, but I am unsure what part of the regulations they are required to follow. I'm more familiar with human operator/FPV drones, mainly racing quads. Even if they're only flying at 300ft to be safe I still very much doubt you will hear anything. My race quads are pretty loud but in my experiences with larger slower moving ones they can be pretty quiet once a short distance away from you is reached. Mostly attributed to the props being larger, slower spinning, and less aggressive.
Re: Amazon has made its first drone delivery to an actual customer
#166Vacations are already being soiled by people flying loud drones in areas of natural beauty, now we get to have our day-to-day skies soiled by fleets of drones delivering popcorn. Am I the only one who doesn't want this specifically because of the noise nuisance?
Don't worry, I predict drone sniping will become a new favorite vandalism of the youth. For those on the more nefarious side, theft from drones will probably be common. Bring it down in your vicinity, take the payload.
Probably the same amount as package theft.
If I wanted to, I could just walk around and take packages off as many stoops as I wanted.
Why don't I? Because it is illegal.
Of course 'youths' are going to do dumb things but I am doubtful theft from drones are going to become illegal. Although that brings up the point of stealing packages using drones for anonymity.
Re: Amazon has made its first drone delivery to an actual customer
#167That'll work until these get popular: https://www.droneshield.com/dronegun
Those things aren't even legal in the US, and I'm sure that if you were caught using one by a company like Amazon, they'd quickly put you on the hook for the bill.
Re: Amazon has made its first drone delivery to an actual customer
#168I feel like this is a stunt. Drone delivery only works with customers that have private backyards - so won't work in a city, since the payload is unsecured after the drones drop it off. In a suburban/rural context, density is lower, meaning that with the limited range of drones, distribution centers won't be able to take advantage of density. Thus the range of products available at each distribution center will be mu…
I live in an urban area in the US. UPS, FedEx, and the USPS all drop my packages off unsecured at my front door as it is. What difference does it make whether it's a person in a truck or a drone doing it? As an Amazon Prime member, I sometimes use Prime Now to get deliveries made in two hours from a limited selection of products, and that requires a minimum order and a delivery surcharge. It's still a great option th…
From a physical standpoint, can a drone get to your front door?
I think targets are going to be inevitable. There's no way that a drone is going to be able to deliver to my front porch. It would be much easier to delivery to my deck in back.
The "not driving" part is the key for me personally. I don't really like risking life and limb to buy potato chips.
By chance, do you have vertigo?
Re: Amazon has made its first drone delivery to an actual customer
#169I noticed it didn't deliver a holiday fruit cake. Probably due to the weight limit. Logistics will get better but without some weight increase this is going to be a long way off from useful.
This is a first generation attempt at a solution and you are already wanting it to deliver terrible things like fruitcake, you terrorist!
Seriously, this is a not the final form these will take. If there is any economic niche that this can fill it will fill it. Then as prices come down, technology improves, autonomy increases or niches open this will grow and improve.
Re: Amazon has made its first drone delivery to an actual customer
#170I feel like this is a stunt. Drone delivery only works with customers that have private backyards - so won't work in a city, since the payload is unsecured after the drones drop it off. In a suburban/rural context, density is lower, meaning that with the limited range of drones, distribution centers won't be able to take advantage of density. Thus the range of products available at each distribution center will be mu…
Cities seem like the easiest challenge to tackle. Amazon could work with commercial and residential high rises and put a dock on their rooftops. So, the drone approaches the building rooftop, puts the package in the docking area (that keeps out poor weather), and then flies away. One of the receptionists could then get a notification of a new package, pick it up, and either put it in the appropriate mailbox, or hold…
A rooftop of a residential high rise isn't a place filled with machinery, it's patio space. The whole top floor is either one or two apartments, has 14' high ceilings, and the very richest live there. They're not gonna want Amazon to land a drone in the middle of their party, nor have anyone come up to say Hi and pick up a package.