UPS Tests Residential Delivery via Drone

Megalith

Megalith

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This is a dream come true for UPS and every other package carrier looking for an excuse not to ring or knock on my door when they drop something off. (Yes, I have literally seen some of them do full-blown sprints through the peeper.) I wonder if there will be any technical difficulties, such as your item being delivered 10 houses down…

UPS used a drone built into one of its iconic brown trucks to complete a delivery in Lithia, Florida, employing a truck and drone made by electric vehicle-maker Workhorse. The drone flew out of the truck's retractable roof to make a drop-off along a preset autonomous route, while the driver headed elsewhere to make another shipment. The drone then rendezvoused with the truck down the road, docked back on the roof and recharged." This is a Kitty Hawk moment," Steve Burns, founder and CEO of Workhorse, said ahead of the test, referring to the Wright brothers' first historic flights in 1903. "When people ask, 'When did drones begin entering the delivery space?' I think it'll be Monday. It should signal a huge change."
 
This has serious potential. Out in rural areas it's not uncommon to have a driveway that is a hundred yards long or more, and it's unfortunately very common for drivers to not want to drive up the driveway. They just leave the package on the street or leave a note to pick it up at the local office. Sometimes they just straight up lie and put down bullshit like "no one was home to accept delivery", etc. I really hope that these drones can help combat driver laziness, and drivers constantly lying and cheating so they can get their route done faster.
 
And soon there will be driverless UPS trucks and more people out of work, then pilotless aircraft and more people out of work, and so on and so forth till we eventually get to the "Wall-E" mixed with "Idiocracy" lifestyle where all humanity is sitting around in anti-gravity mobility devices doing nothing much at all except breathing/eating/shitting/watching TV. :D
 
Now that type of drone deployment looks more feasible than most I have seen.
 
Tiberian said:
mixed with "Idiocracy" lifestyle where all humanity is sitting around in anti-gravity mobility devices doing nothing much at all except breathing/eating/shitting/watching TV. :D
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You forgot the most common activity that they'll be doing with all that free time: Having sex to make more useless humans.
 
Do not like! I need a human being to Ace Ventura my fragile boxes! :p
 
This type of implementation makes so much sense. Its like when they hire temp help for the holiday deliveries where they have 2 guys per truck. Obviously its not increasing efficiency by 100% but its a HUGE step forward, makes total sense. Not to mention that they can cover more area because of the flight path vs roads only.
 
Wait till this meets the "blow it out of the air" crowd. I'm getting the popcorn out...
 
Tiberian said:
And soon there will be driverless UPS trucks and more people out of work, then pilotless aircraft and more people out of work, and so on and so forth till we eventually get to the "Wall-E" mixed with "Idiocracy" lifestyle where all humanity is sitting around in anti-gravity mobility devices doing nothing much at all except breathing/eating/shitting/watching TV. :D
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Imagine how cheap the products will have to be for a workless society. Bring it on Baby. Oh wait only people with money will be able to afford drone delivery, or any kind of delivery. That excludes me, I'll be in a vegetative state out in the field playing with my other turnip friends.
 
PaulP said:
Wait till this meets the "blow it out of the air" crowd. I'm getting the popcorn out...
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With the right kind of frequency decoder, you may end up celebrating Christmas every few months. Don't shoot them, Bring them down softly. I'm sure the laws and regs will have to be changed in the mean time. We know how long that takes. So enjoy.
 
Let's get some drone on drone action

Uncle said:
With the right kind of frequency decoder, you may end up celebrating Christmas every few months. Don't shoot them, Bring them down softly. I'm sure the laws and regs will have to be changed in the mean time. We know how long that takes. So enjoy.
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They don't show the part where the "drone" flies up and slams down on the package four or five times.

Just so you can tell it's from UPS.
 
nightfly said:
You forgot the most common activity that they'll be doing with all that free time: Having sex to make more useless humans.
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No, no, no, you're not getting it: at that point in time the mobility devices would extract the necessary aspects and deliver it - by drone - to a processing center where babies are then "born" into fresh new mobility devices. ;)
 
SighTurtle said:
Hmm...what happened to birth control?
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Let me read a letter I recently received. "Dear Dr. Breen. Why has the Combine seen fit to suppress our reproductive cycle? Sincerely, A Concerned Citizen."

Thank you for writing, Concerned. Of course your question touches on one of the most basic biological impulses, with all its associated hopes and fears for the future of the species. I also detect some unspoken questions. Do our benefactors really know what's best for us? What gives them the right to make this kind of decision for mankind? Will they ever deactivate the suppression field and let us breed again?
 
Now there will be no fence too tall to throw your box over.
 
tsm1020.jpg
 
SighTurtle said:
Hmm...what happened to birth control?
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We have rampant single mother births now, what makes you think the future will be any different? Girls want to get pregnant. Simple logic; they do have a way to prevent it, but won't use it. That won't change.
 
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I hate it when they don't knock. I was talking to my mother last week and she said she opened the door right as a FedEx guy was running away and he was like a deer in headlights.
 
Just to clarify, by "drone" they mean an otherwise useless hobo they shoved into a UPS van, implanted a control chip into the brain stem, and who now walks around mindlessly guided by GPS to drop off small packages they carry in a small pouch on the end of a stick over their shoulder.
 
I can see this being used for special cases only. Such as the rural areas noted above, or in the case of those with a fence/gate not allowing access. It would take more time to load and fly each package than to simply hand deliver in most areas/situations.
 
I hear drones like that are becoming really popular for slipping drugs across borders. I really wonder if they can launch them from a truck tho...
 
I want a drone to take the elevator up to the 11th floor in my apartment building and drop off my package...I can also leave a window open if that's more convenient :D
 
UPS and Amazon drones are going to start loading up on anti-drone weaponry. Drone air battles ensue.
 
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