Magenta Posted December 2, 2013 Posted December 2, 2013 http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=8037720011 Amazon is experimenting with drones that will deliver packages within 30 minutes. CEO Jeff Bezos made the announcement in a "60 Minutes" interview Sunday night with Charlie Rose. http://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-bezos-60-minutes-surprise-2013-12 EDIT: I see now that it's actually an 8-rotor machine, not a 4-rotor as my thread title indicates.
nathanm Posted December 2, 2013 Posted December 2, 2013 So cool. And if it wasn't for the FAA, we could probably have it right now instead of in 4-5 years. Although I do always wonder what part of regulations are real (which would still exist in a true free market) and which are fake (which are political bribes to stick it to competitors etc.)
Mike Fleming Posted December 2, 2013 Posted December 2, 2013 The free market uses drones to deliver goods to people. The government uses them for killing.
MrCapitalism Posted December 2, 2013 Posted December 2, 2013 As a Pilot, I (and probably the FAA) could care less.. so long as these things stay below 500' above the ground, and get no closer than 4 miles to any airport. Those are going to be very hard to see, and are really gonna hurt when I smash into them. I actually think this looks incredibly inefficient, but my opinion doesn't matter. What happens to that little box the product came in? What if the thing is larger then that box size? Why does it only carry one product at a time? Although I do always wonder what part of regulations are real (which would still exist in a true free market) and which are fake (which are political bribes to stick it to competitors etc.) While I advocate for the abolition of the F.A.A. (and the DOT). I gotta give those guys some credit... it's probably one of the best functioning government agencies that I've ever seen (it just has to work, and so I guess it does... ) The government has pretty much established a monopoly on the separation of aircraft in flight.
wdiaz03 Posted December 2, 2013 Posted December 2, 2013 I expect the sale of BB guns to soar when this gets implemented. (Yeeehaa, I got me 'nother one of them fly'ng things, momma!)
nathanm Posted December 3, 2013 Posted December 3, 2013 Obviously it's going to be limited by the size and weight of whatever will fit in the box. Although the box itself looks like a perfectly re-usable container in itself, it seems like it might be cool if the drone shut off, allowed the person to remove the items and then it took the empty box back. But I suppose Amazon won't want anyone to touch the thing. Safety is obviously a concern. I could see a dog charging this thing and getting its face shredded. But there's probably less danger in this than in the cars we all drive everyday despite all the death and carnage. Well hell, even if it didn't land at all and just dropped the box into your yard from 15 feet in the air that might not be all that different than what regular packages endure in the conventional shipping systems.
Wesley Posted December 3, 2013 Posted December 3, 2013 Obviously it's going to be limited by the size and weight of whatever will fit in the box. Although the box itself looks like a perfectly re-usable container in itself, it seems like it might be cool if the drone shut off, allowed the person to remove the items and then it took the empty box back. But I suppose Amazon won't want anyone to touch the thing. Safety is obviously a concern. I could see a dog charging this thing and getting its face shredded. But there's probably less danger in this than in the cars we all drive everyday despite all the death and carnage. Well hell, even if it didn't land at all and just dropped the box into your yard from 15 feet in the air that might not be all that different than what regular packages endure in the conventional shipping systems. In this instance I wouldn't be worried about the package as much as getting hit by a flying Kindle. Which could present a new sport of package catching as well. I feel like that is something that other people... would try to see if they could do.
nathanm Posted December 3, 2013 Posted December 3, 2013 A manned version could be cool. It could have a camera, microphone and speaker on it. The Amazon rep calls your cell phone says, "Hey the drone will be there in 5 minutes, go out to the drop zone." Then you stand there and wait to catch it and the operator can make sure it's all clear, drop the box into your hands and then say "Thanks for shopping at Amazon" from the miniature PA speaker. Perhaps houses could have chutes on the roofs that packages can drop into and slide right into your house. No worry about it being stolen and you won't have to be home a the time. Basically making the job of Santa Claus a real thing. I highly recommend watching the 60 Minutes shows with Jeff Bezos. Your heart will be warmed with a Jeffrey Tucker-like sense of warehouse wonder. Plus, Montesorri school and all. Hmmm, positive early childhoods make successful people, whoda thunk it?
jacbot Posted July 12, 2014 Posted July 12, 2014 I just thought about something If the air is filled with these kind of delivery drones, people can hide their own drones in the "drone-flok" in the sky,., and deliver contrabands (drugs) to customers.
_LiveFree_ Posted July 14, 2014 Posted July 14, 2014 If this delivery system actually....takes off... *snort!* then I expect delivery ports to be added to business and residences alike. So people can add a small "delivery landing zone" to their houses. Or apartment complexes can have designated delivery areas or some such. It would seem to me that those boxes should have a release hatch at the bottom. The aircraft hovers a few feet off the ground and just spits out your package (not trying to be gross, although I did just pun all over my computer).
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