41–50 of 196 posts
This is an interesting idea and I’ll be curious to see if the economics works out, but I hope the company realizes that “pipe dream” does not have positive connotations.
Not clear why they want to put that into the tunnel. There are already autonomous solutions for last mile delivery: robots using pedestrian sidewalks. No need to bore anything, easy to navigate and to rescue if there is an issue. >>Underground tubes are already the transportation method of choice for essentials like water, sewage, and Wi-Fi. Underground tubes with wifi? Good joke
I have to say, it is a bold choice labeling those as a solution. Given the amount of deliveries done all day neighborhoods would be crawling with robots like this. So for neighborhoods that actually do have sidewalks, pedestrians would be hugely inconvenienced. Then there are neighborhoods that don't have sidewalks where these robots would need to share the road.
There is also the amount of resources needed for each solution. These robots are fairly complex, require batteries, etc. If they take off in a huge way that means a huge amount of future e-waste being created. Batteries need replacing often, these robots will break down, certainly in certain climates, etc.
Of course an underground system needs to be build at some point as well. However, it is much more of a one time upfront investment with lower costs down the road to maintain the system. At the very least you are not creating another environmental strain by having to fabricate a ton of batteries.
An underground system is also more likely to just work in various challenging climates. No overheating electronics in hot climates, no snow and ice related challenges in colder climates.
Delivery robots are cool. But they are, in my opinion, nothing more than a band-aid.
Not clear why they want to put that into the tunnel. There are already autonomous solutions for last mile delivery: robots using pedestrian sidewalks. No need to bore anything, easy to navigate and to rescue if there is an issue. >>Underground tubes are already the transportation method of choice for essentials like water, sewage, and Wi-Fi. Underground tubes with wifi? Good joke
Now, armored aerial delivery drones… dissuading dronejacking with robust self-defense/self-destruction capabilities, adequately advertised to avoid potential lawsuits… that’s the future we’re waiting for.
There's a project in Switzerland to build an underground network of cargo tubes.[1] Cargo Sous Terrain has been making animated videos since 2016, though, and as yet has very little hardware to show. Their proposed tunnels are 6 meters in diameter and have 3 lanes, traversed by AGVs. [1] https://www.cst.ch/en
[flagged]
Or do you think they also didn't bother building sewers in Swiss cities and towns and are still all using outhouses?
> When the guys sitting on piles of nazi gold and the money from dead foreign despots say "nah fam, that shit's too expensive", there's no way anyone else could afford it.
lol, that's one hell of a top tier hyperbolic stereotyping trope supported "argument".
Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's because the old transit lines were redone as bike paths.
Really now? That's the entire reason the US has problems with transit because some old rails are now bike paths? There really isn't any other reason you can think of?
Creating new right-of-way is terribly expensive and destructive. The old rail system used to provide mass transit, and it ran through the cities in the county.
The County also goes to great lengths to spend as much money as possible. When digging a new tunnel, the excavated material was used to stuff the old tunnel, meaning there was no increase in capacity. In another instance, once the tunnel was finished, the $$$$$$$ tunnel boring machine was sold for scrap instead of being reused.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
You send a recovery vehicle down the line to fetch it, capable of hooking it, and strong enough to tow/ drag it to an exit point or service "vault" just like "vaults" on underground tunnels for power, data, gas, etc. The tow vehicle basically just needs to weigh enough. Or you send a human down the line on a platform with wheels. The tunnel would have to be at least as high as those crates and at least twice as wide.…
Ok get this. We make a spider bot that suctions to random cars going in the general direction that we want to deliver the package. If the car turns to go in the wrong direction, the spider bot jumps off and hitches to the next vehicle. Free transit, no infrastructure costs.
Not clear why they want to put that into the tunnel. There are already autonomous solutions for last mile delivery: robots using pedestrian sidewalks. No need to bore anything, easy to navigate and to rescue if there is an issue. >>Underground tubes are already the transportation method of choice for essentials like water, sewage, and Wi-Fi. Underground tubes with wifi? Good joke
Presumably "Wi-Fi" these days means "any Internet connection that’s not cellular". And to be fair, cellular data mostly travels underground too.
Not clear why they want to put that into the tunnel. There are already autonomous solutions for last mile delivery: robots using pedestrian sidewalks. No need to bore anything, easy to navigate and to rescue if there is an issue. >>Underground tubes are already the transportation method of choice for essentials like water, sewage, and Wi-Fi. Underground tubes with wifi? Good joke
Delivery bots using pedestrian sidewalks are 1) limited to places that have pedestrian sidewalks, 2) are really, really slow, and 3) can very easily be stolen. If we’re talking suburbs, they are likely off the table. Now, armored aerial delivery drones… dissuading dronejacking with robust self-defense/self-destruction capabilities, adequately advertised to avoid potential lawsuits… that’s the future we’re waiting for…
Robots in the tunnel are not fast either.
Looks like a fun startup to burn some VC money.