Amazon Announces Prime Air Drone Delivery

If you showed me this on 4/1, I would've said you're trying to fool me.

I assume this only works for packages that don't require a signature.

I wonder how nervous UPS is that this could cut into their revenue. :D
 
This will probably require certain prerequisites to be met. For example you must have a wide open area for delivery, can't deliver to business parks or apartment buildings or anything behind "gates" as landing room might not be sufficient? There will probably be a small service area as well. I don't think this will work for every delivery scenario.
 
Term-X said:
So what you are saying is, that for $50.00 Prime Air shipping, I can get my package and a free drone with my butterfly net! :D

It's cute but I don't think it will be a reality any time soon. All the obvious issues but the most glaring issue.... the "NIMBY" crowd.
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I'm pretty sure that if a drone doesn't return to Amazon, they'll investigate where the last shipment (err, airment?) was and charge you for the drone. :D Not to mention it probably has GPS tracking. :p

(I know you were kidding, but there might be some who might seriously think they can get a free drone.)
 
I wonder about heavy rain / snow and how much this would cost versus traditional shipping methods.
 
I would rather they retrofit the R&D lab to train their shippers to use boxes that actually fit the item.
 
Steve said:
I wonder about heavy rain / snow and how much this would cost versus traditional shipping methods.
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the shipment box itself appears to be waterproof, but I suppose an announced shipping delay (or fine print ;)) is a reasonable way to deal with inclement weather.
 
Dekoth-E- said:
I got money on Alabama or Texas.

Alabama shouldn't even need to be explained why. If you have ever had to drive through, you understand most of the stereotypes are pretty true. If you ever had to work tech desk support for a company that covered Alabama you are scared of those people. :eek:

Texas, well Because they can.

Colorado does have the law, but meh I don't see it happening first.



I am going to "Guess" that this will be limited to houses only and places they can verify the drone can easily get in and out safely.
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Or the New York city police will shoot one down that's more than 50 yards up with an errant shot meant for a criminal.
 
My dog would love to be fed this way, I am not sure that yellow box would resist! My cat would pown the drone anyway (it did that to me).
 
I'd imagine that when you sign up for this service amazon would send you some sort of GPS locator to mark the future landing zone for airments. That would be cool since you mark your deck or back yard as the drop off location (no more packages left by the front door).

As far as shooting at drones or stealing them, I wouldn't be surprised if the drones had cameras that either record or transmit video of their flight. Also, if these get the FAA treatment then shooting at one, or otherwise interfering with it, would be a felony.
 
About 2 days would pass with this until some idiot got their fingers in the rotors and then sued for millions.
 
Rock&Roll said:
About 2 days would pass with this until some idiot got their fingers in the rotors and then sued for millions.
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They should utilize a winch so it would lower the package down remaining at a "safe" altitude.
 
Why doesn't Amazon allow same day pickup at there warehouses instead of drones?

I see these drones as a huge liability:

1. Drone crashed into house/car/etc
2. Drone injured/killed person or animal
3. Drone get tangled into power lines
4. Drone gets shot down, packages stolen
5. No way to sign for package, proof of delivery.
6. Drone gets hit by lightning, package lost.
 
c0re said:
Why doesn't Amazon allow same day pickup at there warehouses instead of drones?

I see these drones as a huge liability:

1. Drone crashed into house/car/etc
2. Drone injured/killed person or animal
3. Drone get tangled into power lines
4. Drone gets shot down, packages stolen
5. No way to sign for package, proof of delivery.
6. Drone gets hit by lightning, package lost.
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It's not really any difference between USPS/UPS/DHL vs. the drones.

1.) Drivers can and do crash. Sometimes due to driver fatigue. Planes can also crash for the same reasons, or even mechanical failure.
2.) Drivers can injure or kill people as well.
3.) Trucks sometimes hit power poles.
4.) Driver could get shot and truck robbed. Unlikely, but possible. If drones have black boxes and GPS (which I'm sure they will) to indicate where they went down, people who do this can probably be identified and punished same as you would for anything else. Also they'll probably have cameras on the drones for a variety of reasons. Identifying people who shoot them down is just one of them.
5.) Actually a drone could snapshot where the packaged landed and thus prove delivery was made to the target location. It isn't a signature, but it's possible the drone may land and require a signature before releasing the package physically. So it's at least possible to handle this as well.
6.) Planes and trucks can get hit by lightning.

So you see, the drones aren't really any worse than current options. Plus they could work on Sunday. :)
 
In all seriousness, I'd pay for this just to do it. The nerd in me thinks this is far too cool.
 
So, latest theft ring employs hunter-killer drones to go after and hijack Amazon delivery drones to steal shit. :eek::rolleyes::cool:

Yes, proving that no matter HOW FUCKING STUPID something is, if some billionaire asshole says it, the press and all the idiots come out of the woodwork to fawn over it and spread the stupid across the land. Fucktards. :p
 
xX_Jack_Carver_Xx said:
So, latest theft ring employs hunter-killer drones to go after and hijack Amazon delivery drones to steal shit. :eek::rolleyes::cool:

Yes, proving that no matter HOW FUCKING STUPID something is, if some billionaire asshole says it, the press and all the idiots come out of the woodwork to fawn over it and spread the stupid across the land. Fucktards. :p
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Thank you now go back to burying your head in the sand ostrich.
 
The only problem is this: crooks will see unprotected merchandise and devise their own drones to steal the stuff right out of the air. Then Amazon will have to implement defensive and counter-measures. Next thing you know, it'll be a sci-fi movie above our heads in suburbia: delivery drones fighting pirate drones.
 
While I would love to get packages within 30 minutes when I order on Amazon (which I do often) am I the only one who doesn't really want this?

I mean think about it, AMazon is one of if not the TOP digital retailer and imagine just how many of these things might be flying around in the sky.

For people interested in say, bird watching, flying kites, hang gliding, star gazing, and other things it could just be a huge burden.

It's one thing to have an airplane/jet go by once a couple hours or something, but I could see this (if it's cheap enough) getting to the point these things could constantly be flying and cluttering up the skies, and I for one wouldn't like that.
 
Stiler said:
While I would love to get packages within 30 minutes when I order on Amazon (which I do often) am I the only one who doesn't really want this?

I mean think about it, AMazon is one of if not the TOP digital retailer and imagine just how many of these things might be flying around in the sky.

For people interested in say, bird watching, flying kites, hang gliding, star gazing, and other things it could just be a huge burden.

It's one thing to have an airplane/jet go by once a couple hours or something, but I could see this (if it's cheap enough) getting to the point these things could constantly be flying and cluttering up the skies, and I for one wouldn't like that.
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These drones won't fly anywhere as high as traditional aircraft do.
 
beowulf7 said:
These drones won't fly anywhere as high as traditional aircraft do.
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That's my point, they are going to be lower, creating more noise/distractions, flying all over the place (if it is feasible and many people sign up for it).

Could you imagine the scene in Fifth element but instead of flying cars it's drones all over the sky above your house and places.
 
That_Sound_Guy said:
interesting idea with loads of challenges legally and non.

- Im aware Amazon has large shipping costs but whats the comparisons to having hundreds of mosquitos that will all require FAA tags. Also now plastic weatherproof containers.
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Price may not necessarily be a change. Plastic containers are not much more expensive than cardboard ones. They only have to last one delivery.

- Exposed rotors would cause an issue with insurance and what not. power lines, trees, people, etc.
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Multirotors, especially the advanced ones (i.e. $80 ones) can use multiple waypoints to follow a path across the sky and they can be *very* accurate. Rather than fly right across the city, it can follow a path over interconnected buildings rooftops, sewage routes, fences, etc. rather than the sidewalk. The mapping application is linked to google earth so it's simply a matter clicking points on a map and uploading.

Traffic is not much of an issue as it does not need to slow down or stop for anything. It can zig zag across the roofs faster than you can drive across a city block.

- GPS is good and all, how does it determine its landing zone?
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The GPS coordinate is about as accurate as google maps for your area is. It can't land using GPS of course, it can only give altitude relative to launch point and sea level. Fortunately, Arduino boards used for these things also support sonic sensors. They only work at about a dozen feet but that's enough for a multirotor to detect when it's about to land.

- Theft is already bad with current shipping companies, what will this be like as you can blatantly see and hear your package on its way.
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One thing about these things is that they use cheap, general purpose components, to make something over specialized. They do not cost $5,000. Maybe $500. The multi thousand ones are carbon fiber tubing and plates, the cheap ones are polycarbonate and glass fiber, the one in the video is just aluminum (very *very* bad material for these things. *DO NOT USE*).

If you steal it, all you'll have are a bunch of bolted on rods, a few electric motors, a $60 cpu board and GPS receiver. Unless you know what you're doing, it's junk.

Don't want to tear down the new idea, just curious as to how they are addressing the obstacles. No matter how far out this is, UPS, FEDEX and USPS have to be nervous at least a little bit.
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I have a few questions of my own for these things. They do have limitations.

#1 These things are incredibly power hungry. Payload capable quads are also called lifters. They can have anything from four large motors, to eight slightly smaller ones. All of which use tremendous amounts of power, much of your lifting capacity is going to be dedicated to batteries.

#2 Flight time. There are multirotors that show off flight times of as much as 20 minutes, but that's only in a hover and no payload. A typical build is only 15 minutes, another 200grams will halve your flight time to 10 minutes and forward flight drops it down to 7 minutes.

#3 Speed. Multirotors are the slowest among RC aircraft. The videos you see of multirotors zooming in the open are piloted manually. Unlike laboratory drones, outdoor environments don't have the data points to allow them to move as quickly.

#4 Range. Combine the points about speed and flight time together and you're not getting far. Halve the flight time to account for the trip back. How far do you get driving 45kph for five minutes? Four kilometers? How far would it be if you take the safe route?
 
In Los Angeles nothing is supposed to be flying lower than 500 feet, except cops and emergency helos.
 
Stiler said:
That's my point, they are going to be lower, creating more noise/distractions, flying all over the place (if it is feasible and many people sign up for it).

Could you imagine the scene in Fifth element but instead of flying cars it's drones all over the sky above your house and places.
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Remember that planes fly at about 5 miles up. Let's make up a # and say the drones will fly at 1 mile up. That would still be high enough that one would barely be able to see or hear them, but low enough to not interfere with aircraft. Now interference with birds is a whole different issue, one that could get interesting. :D
 
Dekoth-E- said:
I got money on Alabama or Texas.

Alabama shouldn't even need to be explained why. If you have ever had to drive through, you understand most of the stereotypes are pretty true. If you ever had to work tech desk support for a company that covered Alabama you are scared of those people. :eek:

Texas, well Because they can.

Colorado does have the law, but meh I don't see it happening first.



I am going to "Guess" that this will be limited to houses only and places they can verify the drone can easily get in and out safely.
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What? You would have others base a belief in stereotypes on a drive through? Not very open minded of you Dekoth-E.

I would imagine many people from other non-southern states would be surprised to see what Alabama is really like in 2013, as compared to what most television portrays it to be like (1940-1960).
 
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