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Amazon testing delivery by drone

Skyhawk_310R said:
This was the best reply you could phrase?

I'm sorry you cannot visualize the world of the future, but it's going to happen. Your kind of reply would feel right at home with those who exclaimed, "If man were meant to fly, God would have given him wings!"

I have a succinct suggestion for you if you never want the US Army to fly one of these RPA's into your home. Don't join Al Qaeda!

Somehow, I never suspected that was ever a risk for you. So, let's calm down a bit and separate hysteria from reality! Delivery of around 80% of parcels by this means would reduce delivery truck traffic in urban areas substantially. That's a savings on fuel, emissions, and likely an increase in safety. Something I forgot to mention in my previous posts is that again the US Army is using these RPA's to delivery cargo. So, again, the margins of the technology are well ahead of where you think they are. You were the one who found it incredible that these RPA's could deliver a package on your doorstep. I pointed out that they already are agile enough to fly inside buildings. Way to take a factual point and twist it to further an argument!

Amazon's CEO can claim this will be doable in a few years, and from a technological standpoint, since the Army is already doing it, he is right. But, the barrier is society and their fears. There are some hurdles to overcome and I give it several years to work those out. But, again, within 30 years, the stigma and fears will be gone. I doubt seriously that people will ever feel OK with boarding a remotely piloted aircraft for passenger transport. But, to transport cargo large and small, I see this happening.

Ford and other companies have already fielded automobiles with lane detection software and sensors that recognize existing road lanes and provide aural and vibration warnings to drivers when such lanes are crossed. This combines with laser detection technology that alerts drivers to closing obstructions or other vehicles. That's very close to the measure of how this gets done. And yet, this isn't in advanced test vehicles but rather production vehicles people can purchase right now.

Cheers,

Ken
Click to expand...

I don't have trouble visualizing the future, and that is precisely what scares me. I recommend Orwell, Huxley et al.
Our technology far exceeds our ability to control its use, and that is where the trouble will occur.
Unless, of course you're ok with Google, Facebook and every other entity tracking your every move. I'm not; I still have this old fashioned notion that much of what I do is none of anyone else's bloody business.
 
Skyhawk_310R said:
This was the best reply you could phrase?

I'm sorry you cannot visualize the world of the future, but it's going to happen. Your kind of reply would feel right at home with those who exclaimed, "If man were meant to fly, God would have given him wings!"

I have a succinct suggestion for you if you never want the US Army to fly one of these RPA's into your home. Don't join Al Qaeda!

Somehow, I never suspected that was ever a risk for you. So, let's calm down a bit and separate hysteria from reality! Delivery of around 80% of parcels by this means would reduce delivery truck traffic in urban areas substantially. That's a savings on fuel, emissions, and likely an increase in safety. Something I forgot to mention in my previous posts is that again the US Army is using these RPA's to delivery cargo. So, again, the margins of the technology are well ahead of where you think they are. You were the one who found it incredible that these RPA's could deliver a package on your doorstep. I pointed out that they already are agile enough to fly inside buildings. Way to take a factual point and twist it to further an argument!

Amazon's CEO can claim this will be doable in a few years, and from a technological standpoint, since the Army is already doing it, he is right. But, the barrier is society and their fears. There are some hurdles to overcome and I give it several years to work those out. But, again, within 30 years, the stigma and fears will be gone. I doubt seriously that people will ever feel OK with boarding a remotely piloted aircraft for passenger transport. But, to transport cargo large and small, I see this happening.

Ford and other companies have already fielded automobiles with lane detection software and sensors that recognize existing road lanes and provide aural and vibration warnings to drivers when such lanes are crossed. This combines with laser detection technology that alerts drivers to closing obstructions or other vehicles. That's very close to the measure of how this gets done. And yet, this isn't in advanced test vehicles but rather production vehicles people can purchase right now.

Cheers,

Ken
Click to expand...

I don't mind the US Army, but I don't want an Amazon drone operator flying his drone through my window - or peeking in! Why would the Army want to do that? The NSA would jump on the chance to get video feed from millions of flying surveillance cameras though, I'm pretty sure.

I don't have any problems with automated cars either. But cars operate in an inherently stable 2D environment called ground.

By comparison I see serious safety concerns with airspace being stuffed with automated planes. No need to call me backwards or fearful for that - I'd far better like it if you pointed out solutions to these problems.

Remember: A car is safely on the ground - but a drone is up there with wind, rain, snow and cold. What happens in high winds? Are all deliveries literally grounded? What happens if a computer glitch causes a collision, wil dead drones rain down on our heads?

Again remember: We are not talking about airliner traffic today but low-level airways with traffic about as dense as on a freeway with correspondingly higher risk of collision. And a light drone gets thrown about by even moderate wind ...

So we are looking now looking at this scenario: Every delivery within 30 min provided we don't have any weather, or computer down-time, in which case we'll deliver sometime after ...

The privacy issues I have already adressed, I would like to keep my home private, not having delivery drones peeking in first-floor windows!

And who is to say that this will not be jumped on by salesmen?

This is all well and good in science fiction, but there are so many immediately obvious technical challenges (the computing power required to direct traffic by millions of drones not the least) thta I surmise your resorting to personal attacks denotes a definite lack of rational arguments as to why this is a good idea!

And I don't mean: any This-is-cool-so-we-should-do-it-argument, I would prefer a bit of flesh on the bone!

And by the way, I work in a space research environment with a science mission set to launch in 2034, so I am per se a future-minded kind of guy.

Sascha
 
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Skyhawk_310R said:
You were the one who found it incredible that these RPA's could deliver a package on your doorstep. I pointed out that they already are agile enough to fly inside buildings. Way to take a factual point and twist it to further an argument!
Click to expand...

And no, my incredulous squeaks were not directed at the technical marvel of delivering a package by drone on my doorstep (after all people have been managing that by mule or bicycle for thousands of years) but because I found it incredible that anyone could be so enthusiastic about this idea like you seemed to be!
 
KellyB said:
I don't have trouble visualizing the future, and that is precisely what scares me. I recommend Orwell, Huxley et al.
Our technology far exceeds our ability to control its use, and that is where the trouble will occur.
Unless, of course you're ok with Google, Facebook and every other entity tracking your every move. I'm not; I still have this old fashioned notion that much of what I do is none of anyone else's bloody business.
Click to expand...


It's just a different form of delivery method, man!

Shoulder, horse, carriage, wagon, car, truck, rail, plane, RPA. Only the methods have changed. The basic concept of hauling something from Point A to Point B has remained the same.

The other part of your concern has merit, but that lies in a different area which laws can clamp down on. I agree it is past time for the laws to catch up to the technology.

Cheers,

Ken
 
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I seem to recall that delivery drivers walk up to your doorstep and he has a set of eyes and ears. I suppose we acknowledge there is an opportunity for "spying" when we open our doors for delivery receipt. But, I tend to think the dude just wants to hand you your package and move on. The RPA would just drop off the package and get back home to get the next one.

Anything in life can be abused, anything in life can be construed into a negative or sinister intent.

Ken
 
next we will be required to buy insurance to guarantee delivery, the store will not be responsible for theft.
 
Actually, I'm always amazed at how Amazon does what it does with little or no "person" interaction....I've ordered thru their French site, Canadian site, and of course the US site.
 
I just viewed the nightly news coverage on these things, and for now, one issue is obtaining a battery that would have a charge that could cover delivery distances needed. Then I wonder how long recharge times would be. But hey, that's all in the future.
 
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