Amazon to trial delivery-by-drone

[skyrover]

Cobnapint said:

NinjaPower said:

I think the next step will be multi-drop drones, perhaps the size of fridge freezer and with multiple trap doors on the bottom which each hold parcels for one address. The drone could maybe carry out deliveries to 10-20 houses, all without an operator or the costs of running a van: diesel, driver, tyres etc.

I think you mean 'Helicopter'.

car delivery

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIf7bcxsPlY

[Wyvern971]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgWlm5zrY4w


I wonder how much spares would sell for

[maffski]

jjlynn27 said:

Interesting post. What would be, if you know, the cost per delivery to amazon for such a small item? Those drones look awfully expensive.

Nope, but given the volumes Amazon would be working at I'd assume each new drone will cost something in the region of a weeks wages for the current meat popsicle in a van - with low running costs and no wages I would expect it to pay off quickly. I suspect it'll cost a pence to run a single delivery, compared to the costs of keeping the lights on and counter staffed at a shop I'd think Amazon would be onto a massive winner.

There's a company in China betting on a drone taxi http://arstechnica.com/business/2016/01/chinese-co...

[Gecko1978]

1990's

mobile phones we started to all get them with rise of pay as you go. So we all phone our friends from where ever to say "have a a new fangled cell phone"....2016 no one makes calls anymore we texts of message send a pic or update bookface. we can video call. We use the phone to access our bank online an pay for stuff it open the barriers on the tube, it scans bar codes, can be used to track other friends an family and is the font of all knowledge via google. We use it at the gym to check heart rate, record our work out. We listen to music on it etc etc.

1990's was not that long ago an we had no idea these things which we thought were cool because you could change the cover on it would actually become main life tool.

Drones are the same today a novelty 30 years from now you will wonder why we did not do it before.

[jjlynn27]

maffski said:

Nope, but given the volumes Amazon would be working at I'd assume each new drone will cost something in the region of a weeks wages for the current meat popsicle in a van - with low running costs and no wages I would expect it to pay off quickly. I suspect it'll cost a pence to run a single delivery, compared to the costs of keeping the lights on and counter staffed at a shop I'd think Amazon would be onto a massive winner.

There's a company in China betting on a drone taxi http://arstechnica.com/business/2016/01/chinese-co...

Very interesting thanks. Given his history, I'd never bet against Bezos.

[Sylvaforever]

I wonder how much profit the CAA considers this worth considering the extortion racket they run for private drone operators (and now the aviation scene in general in the UK with their fine system that does not even have to go to court) ?

[mccrackenj]

fblm said:

kowalski655 said:

Digga said:

Eric Mc said:

What happens if a drone has a technical issue and plummets to the ground?

Depends whether it's carrying a tonne of down-filled duvets, or a tonne of bar bells and iron weights.

Surely you will get squished either way

What about a tonne of parrots?

What if the parrots all flap their wings during the descent? Does it matter whether the parrots are 'loose' inside an enclosed 'cell' attached to the drone or each is tethered to the drone whilst flapping?

[PoleDriver]

The idea is nothing new, it first started in the middle ages!

[loudlashadjuster]

I made this one of the previous times this little bit of news PR was floating about.

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1mBrgeMCzfu...

The technology is only one problem, but I grudgingly accept that with a huge shift in battery capacity density (which we’re all waiting for for many, many disruptive tech things) then it at least starts to look semi-feasible. Even the blue circles in that map assume a doubling of capacity and as well all know that kind of thing just hasn’t happened yet.

Thinking about some of the non-tech risks and logistics though I can only even see it being a hub-hub type delivery in the short to medium term, not a full to-the-door thing.

I look forward to the next ‘trial’ in 6-12 months and the associated uptick in Amazon’s social media mentions…

[anonymous-user]

mccrackenj said:

fblm said:

kowalski655 said:

Digga said:

Eric Mc said:

What happens if a drone has a technical issue and plummets to the ground?

Depends whether it's carrying a tonne of down-filled duvets, or a tonne of bar bells and iron weights.

Surely you will get squished either way

What about a tonne of parrots?

What if the parrots all flap their wings during the descent? Does it matter whether the parrots are 'loose' inside an enclosed 'cell' attached to the drone or each is tethered to the drone whilst flapping?

The enclosed cell will be a dead weight regardless the parrots flapping or sitting on the floor. Assuming a woosh parrot weighs about 2lb, you'll need to glue at least 500 of them to the outside to stop it falling.

[J4CKO]

TLandCruiser said:

Digga said:

If there's the faintest chance of this becoming a reality, I'm betting catapults will be the top-selling toy the next Christmas.

Or anyone with a 12 bore

Or a brick, sturdy stick, hosepipe etc etc

The lowest common denominator in the UK cant leave bus stops, ATM's, toilets or anything else intact unless it is guarded, behind razor wire or whatever, some folk really help fking stuff up, ever been in public loo and someone has written stuff in faeces, well thats what Amazon have to contend with, sending a delicate and expensive electronic devise into the badlands and not expecting the same folk hat shine lazers at airline pilots thinking its a jolly jape not to try to destroy it, its got no chance !

Someone had spat all over the ATM I went to the other day, what is that about, something pretty much everyone uses, that provides money, nope, gob on it, DNA test it then find them and kill them I say D:

[PoleDriver]

Net-guns will get a big boost in sales!

[Ayahuasca]

How will they get the drones through people's letterboxes?

[JohneeBoy]

I agree with those who say it will work on a limited basis. Just for small items to be delivered directly and exactly to the recipient at a specific time. If I could walk into my garden or nearby park and wait for a new thing I just ordered to land in front of me at exactly 18:37, then I'd be a very happy customer. All I would need is a mobile phone transmitting my coordinates and/or some sort of visible landing pad and it's perfectly workable.

Of course, some horrid little stbag could turn up and steal it but that could happen anyway. It's not uncommon to find deliveries hidden outside too. This isn't more of a risk really and Amazon will have calculated the potential loss. As for heavily built up areas where this might not work; just because something doesn't work in one place doesn't mean it can't be used elsewhere.

I can actually imagine a network of 'virtual highways' and depots for them where they can relay items to the more distant corners of the country. It would be a lot cheaper than many of the conventional methods, and quicker too.

[TLandCruiser]

If this takes off and we end up with all the leading couriers offering this kind of service I feel sorry for everyone who lives in a built up area hearing the sound of drones all day or seeing them whizzing around your house all day.

I wonder how long it will be before people start using gps jammers.

[Catweazle]

JohneeBoy said:

I agree with those who say it will work on a limited basis. Just for small items to be delivered directly and exactly to the recipient at a specific time. If I could walk into my garden or nearby park and wait for a new thing I just ordered to land in front of me at exactly 18:37, then I'd be a very happy customer. All I would need is a mobile phone transmitting my coordinates and/or some sort of visible landing pad and it's perfectly workable.

http://what3words.com/

[valiant]

What about airspace?

Doing a little reading (always a bit dangerous) I own the airspace above my property to around 500 ft. If the Amadrone enters my airspace without my prior permission can I do them for trespass or charge them a hefty fee for access?

I sense my annual prime fee becoming free in the near future...

[anonymous-user]

I predict it will not happen to any meaningful degree. Just a publicity stunt

[eccles]

Gecko1978 said:

1990's

mobile phones we started to all get them with rise of pay as you go. So we all phone our friends from where ever to say "have a a new fangled cell phone"....2016 no one makes calls anymore we texts of message send a pic or update bookface. we can video call. We use the phone to access our bank online an pay for stuff it open the barriers on the tube, it scans bar codes, can be used to track other friends an family and is the font of all knowledge via google. We use it at the gym to check heart rate, record our work out. We listen to music on it etc etc.

1990's was not that long ago an we had no idea these things which we thought were cool because you could change the cover on it would actually become main life tool.

Drones are the same today a novelty 30 years from now you will wonder why we did not do it before.

Whilst I agree with you about technology (remember the fuss when the first i-pad came out and now look at us!), the drone thing has a lot more pitfalls. Designing stuff like a phone for a human to use is relatively easy as we're all fairly similar, just look at the variations in house and garden design, people who live in flats. Some people have no gardens, some are sloping steeply, then add in the variables of the weather in this country. All this adds up to a vastly more complicated scenario for the drone to operate in. I'm not saying it will never happen, just not be universally used due to local limiting factors.

[anonymous-user]

valiant said:

What about airspace?

Doing a little reading (always a bit dangerous) I own the airspace above my property to around 500 ft. If the Amadrone enters my airspace without my prior permission can I do them for trespass or charge them a hefty fee for access?

I sense my annual prime fee becoming free in the near future...

Why would it have to enter your airspace? Obvious solution is to fly over the roads using sat nav technology. Get to the deliver address, then turn off the road over the addressee's land.