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Google Wing will deliver to about 100 homes in Canberra

bbc.co.uk

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Re: Google Wing will deliver to about 100 homes in Canberra

#11

Post by michaelt »

There's a better video of the drones here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prhDrfUgpB0

Google's delivery drones combine a multirotor design with fixed-wings. It seems like an eminently sensible design to me; fixed-wing operation will be quieter and more power-efficient, allowing longer travel distances (unlike the early Amazon Prime Air videos [1]), while hover capability avoids the need to parachute the load (unlike the current Zipline drones [2]) and provides a hover-and-land-almost-anywhere capability I imagine is useful.

Presumably the winch-down-the-load design reduces the risk of a user putting their hands into the blades - not to mention reducing the risk from customers choosing an inappropriate landing location; I imagine the drone can also jettison the winch cord if it gets caught on anything. It precludes delivering directly to apartment windows - but AFAIK no-one else is trying that either.

It's a pity they haven't released clear info on these drones' range, round-trip time and weight carrying capacity. Which are of course critical to working out the profitability of a citywide coffee delivery service.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MR9PoBAssw0 [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnoUBfLxZz0

Re: Google Wing will deliver to about 100 homes in Canberra

#12

Post by golergka »

mrtksn wrote: post #8

I personally expect that the first successful drone delivery service will be implemented by some sophisticated drug dealers because unlike with all these drone delivery services, they would need to be quiet and reliably deliver products instead of publicity.

Current deaddrop schemes seem to be working quite well, drones would be much easier to target than just a random person walking around.

Re: Google Wing will deliver to about 100 homes in Canberra

#13

Post by djhworld »

mrtksn wrote: post #8

I personally expect that the first successful drone delivery service will be implemented by some sophisticated drug dealers because unlike with all these drone delivery services, they would need to be quiet and reliably deliver products instead of publicity.

Already happening here in the UK, especially in prisons where external dealers can drop packages over using a drone

Re: Google Wing will deliver to about 100 homes in Canberra

#14

Post by mrtksn »

golergka wrote: post #12
mrtksn wrote: post #8

I personally expect that the first successful drone delivery service will be implemented by some sophisticated drug dealers because unlike with all these drone delivery services, they would need to be quiet and reliably deliver products instead of publicity.

Current deaddrop schemes seem to be working quite well, drones would be much easier to target than just a random person walking around.

One needs to restock these dead drops, right? Maybe a distributor can bypass all the small time street dealers and create an empire whose only distribution channel is drones.

Re: Google Wing will deliver to about 100 homes in Canberra

#15

Post by no1youknowz »

I can envisage a future where you have huge drones with landing pads that fly between hubs in a set amount of times.

This will then allow individuals to request a drone from a 3rd party. Load up the package and program the drone for the final destination. The drone flies to the LZ drone where it lands and waits until its main destination and then resumes flight until it delivers the package.

The drone could have a wallet where it takes the initial payment from the customer. Which a % goes to the drone operator, when the drone lands a % goes to the LZ operator and any other stops.

Having essentially P2P delivery system will be a total game changer!

Re: Google Wing will deliver to about 100 homes in Canberra

#16

Post by cs02rm0 »

michaelt wrote: post #11

There's a better video of the drones here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prhDrfUgpB0 Google's delivery drones combine a multirotor design with fixed-wings. It seems like an eminently sensible design to me; fixed-wing operation will be quieter and more power-efficient, allowing longer travel distances (unlike the early Amazon Prime Air videos [1]), while hover capability avoids the need to parachute the load (unlike…

I wonder if the winch is to prevent people nicking the drone.

Re: Google Wing will deliver to about 100 homes in Canberra

#17

Post by marsRoverDev »

no1youknowz wrote: post #15

I can envisage a future where you have huge drones with landing pads that fly between hubs in a set amount of times. This will then allow individuals to request a drone from a 3rd party. Load up the package and program the drone for the final destination. The drone flies to the LZ drone where it lands and waits until its main destination and then resumes flight until it delivers the package. The drone could have a wa…

I think with today's technology there's no need to build a card reader into the drone itself. It can just be handled online prior to delivery (or after successful delivery).

Re: Google Wing will deliver to about 100 homes in Canberra

#19

Post by tacotime »

mrtksn wrote: post #8

I personally expect that the first successful drone delivery service will be implemented by some sophisticated drug dealers because unlike with all these drone delivery services, they would need to be quiet and reliably deliver products instead of publicity.

This is already a widespread problem for prisons, so you are correct.

https://youtu.be/BezZxQF2pRw

“There’s not a prison not fighting this issue in the country,” says Sean Ferguson, New Technology Project Manager at Georgia State Department of Corrections. “If they say they’re not facing it, they’re just not admitting to it. So it is an issue.”

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