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First Victim of Amazon Drones: The Credibility of CBS and 60 Minutes

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Re: First Victim of Amazon Drones: The Credibility of CBS and 60 Minutes

#31

Post by buckbova »

RandallBrown wrote: post #22
ljd wrote: post #6

It seems obvious to me that Bezos took this one public so early to garner public support so that the FAA can't just sit on it forever. All of Amazon's other initiatives didn't need some federal regulator to OK it before they could start selling it. I think this is an effective solution to getting a notoriously slow agency to move on an item. No one wants to be seen as stopping innovation, not even the FAA.

I agree. Even if Amazon doesn't end up launching its own drones, you can be sure that Fedex and UPS will eventually. That helps Amazon too.

UPS is a slow moving entity because of its enormous size and culture. Their delivery system was more or less handled manually until about 10 years ago. 15 years ago they were still using punch clocks for hourly workers. "Eventually" could mean 25-50 years from now.

Re: First Victim of Amazon Drones: The Credibility of CBS and 60 Minutes

#32

Post by BackerHopez »

snowwrestler wrote: post #4

This piece is right on. Amazon package drones are total vaporware at this point; the only reason to announce them is to improve the competitive positioning of Amazon in the press. This is no different than the "slate" announcement by Microsoft and HP at CES 2010, which was widely panned and never produced any actual products for sale. But for a short time, it put MS in all the news stories about the iPad.

Widely panned by trolls everywhere!

Re: First Victim of Amazon Drones: The Credibility of CBS and 60 Minutes

#33

Post by BackerHopez2 »

snowwrestler wrote: post #4

This piece is right on. Amazon package drones are total vaporware at this point; the only reason to announce them is to improve the competitive positioning of Amazon in the press. This is no different than the "slate" announcement by Microsoft and HP at CES 2010, which was widely panned and never produced any actual products for sale. But for a short time, it put MS in all the news stories about the iPad.

Widely panned... by trolls from Hacker News?

Re: First Victim of Amazon Drones: The Credibility of CBS and 60 Minutes

#35

Post by swalsh »

People say that there's usually about a 10 year lag before tech from the military enters civilian use. Since drones showed up roughly 2003, it stands to reason that 2013 is when we should first starting seeing the tech become civilian viable. In fact that seems to be true, there's a whole lot of DIY material out there, and that's from people who don't have real world experience. I wouldn't be surprised if as military contracts wind down the large amount of people who just developed a new set of expertise may try to break out into the private sector. The only thing stopping the tech seems to be the FAA. Obviously its not something to take lightly, there are real safety concerns here... but its not completely science fiction.

Why do we accept that modern warfare can be fought almost entirely with drones (libya?) but when it comes to civilian applications it's a fairy tail publicity stunt?

I think bezos wants to turn a profit, and lowering delivery costs, and giving faster service might only make his company that much more valuable. I don't doubt for a second that this is a genuine effort.

Re: First Victim of Amazon Drones: The Credibility of CBS and 60 Minutes

#36

Post by javajosh »

siglesias wrote: post #27

Who cares? It sparks the public imagination and gets people excited for the future. It's the kind of thing that can get a child interested in robotics or can give entrepreneurs a new level of insight into where commerce is headed. It sets a bar for ambition. Also, how often is it that we're dazzled with TED talks showcasing university research projects that promise the world and never make it to market? Is the point,…

Indeed - I wish more companies were goaded into doing interesting, exciting things in reaction to scathing biographies. Quick, someone write a scathing biography of Elon Musk - we'll have people on Mars in 3 years!

Re: First Victim of Amazon Drones: The Credibility of CBS and 60 Minutes

#37

Post by jaybna »

bhartzer wrote: post #21

I find this whole publicity stunt by Amazon curiously similar to the publicity stunt that Domino's did back in June, where they deliver pizzas via drones.

Do no one remember TacoCopter? http://tacocopter.com/

Most brilliant PR move ever. #suckers

Re: First Victim of Amazon Drones: The Credibility of CBS and 60 Minutes

#38

Post by Crito »

wavefunction wrote: post #26
owenjones wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also even if the book '... portrays Bezos as a ruthless tyrant and a "penny-pinching ballbuster,"' would that dissuade anyone who was already planning on it from shopping at Amazon? To me, regardless of the truth, being "penny-pinching" given Amazon's razor thin margins seems like a good trait for the CEO.

What about "ruthless tyrant?" I'm making a point to shop locally now. I've already seen what supporting Walmart has done to our country.

One would think that you would reserve that sort of terminology to describe warlords with armies of child soldiers, or dictators who have their "democratic opponents" dragged out of their homes with black bags over their heads... you know, "ruthless tyrant" stuff...

Re: First Victim of Amazon Drones: The Credibility of CBS and 60 Minutes

#39

Post by ye »

swalsh wrote: post #35

People say that there's usually about a 10 year lag before tech from the military enters civilian use. Since drones showed up roughly 2003, it stands to reason that 2013 is when we should first starting seeing the tech become civilian viable. In fact that seems to be true, there's a whole lot of DIY material out there, and that's from people who don't have real world experience. I wouldn't be surprised if as military…

You're confusing huge ridiculously expensive military drones, which are essentially small planes, with what Amazon is showing us, which are essentially small helicopters.

There's no way in the world these tiny drones can fly 10 miles each way, carry 5lbs of payload, deliver the package perfectly on the driveway/doorstep, and cost low enough to not be a financial nightmare. That's not even accounting for dealing with FAA, weather issues, safety issues.

There will need to be a few technological revolutions before it works. #1 - battery technology. Current batteries just can't handle long enough flights.

Re: First Victim of Amazon Drones: The Credibility of CBS and 60 Minutes

#40

Post by joenathan »

benjamincburns wrote: post #13

In all of the criticism, I haven't seen anything remarking on the energy cost for this. I can hear a strawman in the audience saying "But drones are tiny/electric/cheap!" Not at these scales. Consider the (lack of) efficiency of quadcopters, the weights and distances involved, and the total sales volume for this service in even a small test market. I'd buy that flight itself is a viable option over wheeled vehicles w…

The energy cost would have to be less than shipping by traditional means, which requires much more human involvement, additional sorting, travel, and stops. If you've ever tracked a package this would be pretty obvious.
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