Amazon Prime Air • Hacker News Board

Re: Amazon Prime Air

#21

Post by spydum » Mon, Dec 02, 2013, 1:40 AM UTC

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/amazon-unveils-futuristic-plan-d... So guess this just aired, didn't realize.. Here is link to cbs 60 minutes.. Doesn't give much better info than amazons site though.

Re: Amazon Prime Air

#22

Post by konaseer » Mon, Dec 02, 2013, 1:40 AM UTC

what if someone shoots downs these drones for invasion of privacy/trespassing/target shooting etc ?

Re: Amazon Prime Air

#23

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Dec 02, 2013, 1:40 AM UTC

[deleted]

Re: Amazon Prime Air

#24

Post by toyg » Mon, Dec 02, 2013, 1:40 AM UTC

maxmcd wrote: post #6

spydum wrote: post #2

I can't tell, would the delivery drones be Autonomous or human piloted? This definitely sounds too sci-fi to be true. Hard to imagine the cost associated here too..

If a human is spending the time to pilot the package back and forth would this really provide much of a benefit?

… but is he? If you could define a "drone altitude zone" where only drones are allowed to operate, you could easily automate it all out.

Re: Amazon Prime Air

#25

Post by amalag » Mon, Dec 02, 2013, 1:41 AM UTC

chad_oliver wrote: post #17

TillE wrote: post #10

Cool tech, but I question the practicality of it. This seems fraught with problems that a human on a bike wouldn't have. They're also entirely unsuitable for urban areas.

No, they're not entirely unsuitable for urban areas. Instead, their (relatively) short range means that they're unsuitable for anything except urban areas. If designed poorly, they would be very unsafe, but there are plenty of ways to increase the safety. For example, notice that the drones have more than 4 rotors. This gives a bit of redundancy so that a motor can fail without causing the drone to crash.

Urban areas but don't you have to exclude apartments too.

Re: Amazon Prime Air

#26

Post by fragsworth » Mon, Dec 02, 2013, 1:41 AM UTC

Brick-and-mortar stores are doomed. I can only see a few types of products remaining in brick-and-mortars: Clothes that you want to try for size, fruits and vegetables that you want to sample, and restaurants... any others?

Re: Amazon Prime Air

#27

Post by roozbeh18 » Mon, Dec 02, 2013, 1:41 AM UTC

haha will the package they put it in be mine or should i return it if so how?

Re: Amazon Prime Air

#28

Post by cloudwalking » Mon, Dec 02, 2013, 1:41 AM UTC

nicksergeant wrote: post #18

TillE wrote: post #10

Cool tech, but I question the practicality of it. This seems fraught with problems that a human on a bike wouldn't have. They're also entirely unsuitable for urban areas.

The vast majority of the US isn't in an urban area, where these would thrive (presuming they could get the distance thing down). Edit: maybe not (see below).

Actually, 80% of US citizens are in "urban areas." http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/2010_census...

Re: Amazon Prime Air

#29

Post by rpedela » Mon, Dec 02, 2013, 1:41 AM UTC

Here is a TED talk which discusses this technology, its cost, and how it is already being used in Africa.

http://www.ted.com/talks/andreas_raptopoulos_no_roads_there_...

Re: Amazon Prime Air

#30

Post by brownBananas » Mon, Dec 02, 2013, 1:42 AM UTC

Hold on a second, what happens when some birds, winds, or malicious citizens damage the drones? Does Amazon keep sending new ones?

How do the drones deliver to apartment buildings or any address that does not have a lawn?

Would return service work the same way?

I love the product, but a little disappointed by the limited FAQ section.