airega1

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I saw this on tv and couldn't believe my eyes, a Quadrocopter delivering packages less than 5 lbs, land in front of your house, drop and go

scale only 4 me

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I saw it too,, what's your question? I liked the story on a Capital Building too,, Seems 60 Minutes has been getting better the last few years

airega1

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I didn't know I needed to ask a question, but here's one, how are they going to prevent these drones from being hijacked by anyone?

scale only 4 me

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I think it was said in the story, although not in great detail, "they will operate autonomously",, one is to assume that means not via radio control,, they will go to a pre-programmed GPS location and drop the package and then return for the next assignment after charging I guess is the plan. With no radio interface,,no real way to hijack one other than tackling it when it gets close to the ground..

I do see kids of all ages using it as target practice,

topspin

In the future there will be delivery drones capable of delivering large parcels like appliances. When that happens it will put the airlines out of business since people will just mail themselves to cool places for less than the cost of an airline ticket.

scale only 4 me

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Amazon was thinking a 10 mile radius,, Dream Big,,what the heck.

airega1

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Hey SO4ME, I didn't know it was on 60 mins, wish I could've caught that, Thanks for the info
Frank

scale only 4 me

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http://www.cbsnews.com/news/amazons-...to-the-future/

Fast forward to 11:00 if you wanna skip the whole story

I_Fly

I didn't see this show but would have liked to. This is just a guess but government regulation and other issues will likely push this out decades or further. They don't really have accommodation for how these drones will operate within the current air traffic system. I can see them being used as target practice in some places. If the news agencies have it correct shooting a drone is legal in some states. Additionally kids and dogs are likely to get too close damaging the drone and injuring themselves. Or our packages will be "drop shipped" until someone or something is hit. Oh, and do the drones fly in bad weather? I'm sure lots of less obvious issues are lurking under the surface as well.

I guess I'm a pessimist these days. It's a neat idea but I see a lot of competition from 3D printing and other ways for people to get what they want.

flycatch

My Feedback: (26)

If you start digging into this proposal it is being backed by the Obama administration under the umbrella of going "green". You and I will be funding this project not "FedEx" and it is going to be another "Sulindra" debacle.

scale only 4 me

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Do you have any evidence to support a statement like that,, or is this all just your theory?

jw0847

Personally I think delivery by drone is not realistic especially since it is only local to their warehouse locations. I think the press release is simply a way to make Amazon stock tick. They have been in business almost 15 years and have yet to turn an acceptable profit margin but have a stock price approaching $400 - not supportable on a 2.5% margin. There is no financial or business reason to support that kind of stock price. Their data processing and hosting business turns nearly 15% but is a small part of their total revenue.

Always good to have high tech ideas to get people talking and buy a few shares. As I said - my opinion.

scale only 4 me

My Feedback: (158)

already in the funnies

Rob2160

60 years ago nobody would have believed an aircraft could fly itself halfway around the world with 400 passengers in total comfort maintained to an accuracy defined in meters and perform a perfect automatic landing in zero visibility.

I doubt we will see these Amazon Drones operational in the next few years but in the next 30 anything is possible. I started this Hobby in 1978 and the radios and technology in use today would have been pure science fiction back then.

Watch any sci fi movie from the 60's and 70's that presents a future earth and the first thing you notice is nobody has cell phones. They couldn't even imagine what the future really held and same is true today. By 2040 people will take for granted things we believe are impossible today.

at101

vertical grimmace

My Feedback: (1)

Amazon is pushing for the USPS to deliver packages on Sunday as well. Seems that the need for delivering goods will continue to increase.

I have come to the conclusion that truly anything that we can imagine, we can create. I would like to see teleportation. That would be the best, sans fly! lol

GerKonig

Snap out of it! Or substantiate, and show a picture of your "crystal ball"...

Gerry

oliveDrab

I can see it now.......A drone delivers a package, a dog comes running over to check it out, the dog gets sliced open by spinning props, the owner sues Amazon, local yokels with guns taking pot-shots at drones, bullets raining out of the sky, drones captured and sold for parts on EBay, errant drones hitting cars on the freeway, drones sucked into an airliner's intakes.

This is a real bad idea. Don't we already have way too much complexity in our lives? Of course it may provide lots of work for software/hardware/firmware types. Can you imagine the lengthy list of bug fixes involved with something like this. Here's one: "Drone erroneously goes to full throttle after power-up reset".

TexasAirBoss

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It is my understanding that it is currently illegal for privately owned drones to fly A to B and land at B.

Red Raider

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UPS announced their drone program yesterday as well. Seems like there is a lot of commercial interest in the use of drones. I think it's cool in theory, but the practicality is questionable and there are lots of issues to be worked out before it could be employed. I watched a fellow cub member fly a quadcopter up to 400' take pictures and video, and then with a single command, the copter returned "home" autonomously an landed within 3 feet from where it took off. So, the technology is available off the shelf to hobbiests like those of us on this forum. As Rob2160 said, things have changed so much in the last 25 years, who's to say what it will look like in the next 25.

init4fun

Hi Texas Air Boss ,

Yes , that very may well be true , but as we all know , Laws are VERY fluid things and have been amended many times in recognition of advances in technology (one needs only to look at automobile speed laws here in the US which have evolved as our vehicle's capabilities have) .....

It will not be such laws that determine the viability of such means of delivery , it will be the laws of simple economics and the laws of nature . On the economic front , if the TOTAL cost of this program ends up making it more cost effective than standard delivery , the companies WILL embrace these savings and the tweaks in "drone law" allowing such deliveries will be paid for by the political lobbying dollars of the companies involved ....

Now , as to the laws of nature , SURE , in nice bright sunny warmer states I can see this running year round . But ya know what ? Here in the Northeast we get SO many winter's days with +20 MPH or greater winds and icing that I just can't see how some 10 or 20 pound delivery craft will be able to operate in the hostile environment reliably . Right now , if a package gets "lost in the mail" is is the loss of the package only . How financially viable would such an idea be when each loss would most likely result in the loss of the delivery vehicle as well ? I'm not so sure relying on , or trusting , a day's worth of deliveries (and delivery VEHICLES) to the whims of today's weather reporting would be in any companies' best financial interest (lets not forget that today's "weathermen" couldn't predict a sunny day through an open window at high noon) .

Anyway , those are my random thoughts on the subject . Anything CAN be done (like the "concord sst transport") but can it compete economically with the existing system it's trying to replace ? (as obviously the sst couldn't and met a financial demise because of it) ..

raptureboy

UPS can't get my address right now even though I have big numbers at the end of my driveway, they still deliver across the street. With all the packages they deliver in a day these things would be like swarms of flies every where. My guess is it's just a gimic to take peoples attention away from the real issues regarding the government use of drones spying on all of us

[email protected]

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i want one of the drones

GerKonig

I do not think so. What is not allowed right now is the commercial use of drones. And that will have changed before next year is over. A lot of people (business) are putting a lot of pressure on the FAA to expedite regulations Most likely they will be allowed to operate up to a certain height.

I see no problem going from A to B (my house) and landing in the front yard or at the back, and then take off and go home, the problem is that they will have to devise clever avoidance systems so they do not crash into each other. But that technology also exists already. Of course, the solution would not work for people that are more than X miles from the warehouse (like people living in the boondocks, or if the delivery has to be made in the 22nd floor in a high rise building in Philadelphia.... Or in bad neighborhoods in Philadelphia. I can see mini drones delivering pot... But, hey, nothing works in all environments.

People did not believe in airplanes as a means of transportation either...

Gerry

GerKonig

Nothing like a crazy conspiracy theory to brighten my morning:-)

Gerry