41–50 of 604 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
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...
Apparently we have very forward thinking laws in regards to UAVs
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.
what if someone shoots downs these drones for invasion of privacy/trespassing/target shooting etc ?
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).
Even if you just want to cut UPS out of the last 30 minute radius and not stock everything at every distribution center... that's still distribution centers everywhere.
I expect drones will increase that form of ambient noise in my neighborhood substantially.
Those who live in high vehicle traffic areas may not notice a difference.
Just watched the 60 minutes segment: Bezos say they won't be ready until 2015 at the earliest, likely 2016. (Edit: as the commenter below pointed out, I misheard the timeframe: is is 4-5 years out) He said the range is 10 miles, which is good enough for most residential areas. They are aiming for delivery in 30 minutes. The drones are autonomous: you plug in the GPS coordinates and away they go. The biggest challenge…
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?
NFW does this not run into all sorts of regulatory hurdles.
This looks cool, and Amazon has some smart folks so this will likely work itself out over time, but there is going to be a lot to overcome.