191–200 of 604 posts
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.
> problems that a human on a bike wouldn't have Seriously, why the need for flight? Why not unicycle delivery drones?
This is an awesome idea of course. It's a glimpse into the future. I remember tweeting with Chris Anderson of 3D Robotics about a year ago about autonomous package delivery from A > B. I'm sure Bezos and team started nerding out on this concept years ago. Eventually, "vehicles" the size of UPS trucks will be delivering packages autonomously all over the world. This is definitely a glimpse into that day. And it won't…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
This concept and forward thinking is of the type I make a conscious effort to protect from skepticism and naysayers. Aside from any obvious or glaring safety issues, ideas like this one, that teeter on the reality-joke line, are the exact ones that bring about true disruption. And that's why I encourage everyone around me to keep an open and forgiving mind, like you would with a child. Will Amazon Prime Air work? I d…
Agreed. So far, I've seen nothing but specious fear-mongering and nonsensical "what-if" arguments against this thing. I can understand why people doubt the feasibility of drone delivery, especially given the legal impediments to adoption. Frankly, I doubt that this type of service will be practical within four years. What I can't understand is why people openly reject the idea of drones. I don't see how Prime Air is…
One of my pet dogs growing up always chased the UPS truck (rural area). I can't imagine what it would have done to delivery drones... In a hypothetical situation where a delivery drone gets sniped by some kid with a 22, what is Amazon's response?
This concept and forward thinking is of the type I make a conscious effort to protect from skepticism and naysayers. Aside from any obvious or glaring safety issues, ideas like this one, that teeter on the reality-joke line, are the exact ones that bring about true disruption. And that's why I encourage everyone around me to keep an open and forgiving mind, like you would with a child. Will Amazon Prime Air work? I d…
This concept and forward thinking is of the type I make a conscious effort to protect from skepticism and naysayers. Aside from any obvious or glaring safety issues, ideas like this one, that teeter on the reality-joke line, are the exact ones that bring about true disruption. And that's why I encourage everyone around me to keep an open and forgiving mind, like you would with a child. Will Amazon Prime Air work? I d…
like you would with a child Why would we turn off our critical thinking skills when contemplating claims of a leap in technology that transcends what many of us understand to be possible currently? There are times to encourage creative thought, like with children or within the context of a brainstorming meeting. But most of the time we should evaluate claims critically with the best practices of the Scientific Method…
Open your mind too far and you accept too many wacky ideas. Close it to much and you'll never see what's possible.
I wonder how they'll stop this from being abused. From shooting them down with pellet guns to capturing them as they land.
Like everything else in a civilized country--laws and insurance. Does UPS have a problem with drivers being ambushed or held hostage?
And apparently they do occasionally: http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2013/11/25/search-underway-af... http://www.wjla.com/articles/2013/01/ups-driver-robbed-polic... http://www.ksdk.com/story/news/2013/10/20/3091049/ http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/delco/Cops-UPS-driver-kid...
This just makes the robbings easier, as you don't have to deal with a human driver. Much less risk involved, and lower prison sentences when you're not threatening a human and just stealing property.
I wonder how they'll stop this from being abused. From shooting them down with pellet guns to capturing them as they land.
To prevent capturing them you could charge a deposit equal to the cost of the drone, when the drone returns safely you get your deposit back.