Captain Coffee 2,030 Posted May 13, 2015 Report Share Posted May 13, 2015 I suspect that the Only way to make this initially possible, is to make the drone delivery "30 minutes" deal so damned expensive that only the uber wealthy will be adding the service to their orders, as a lark/conversation item. "Look dahlings, I can get a bottle of Poufey DeCosta Mucho 1943 here in 30 minutes...watch"...in which case the drones will more than likely be delivering to fairly swanky/roomy properties...and the demand will be high only amoung the Neuvo Wealthy/Bezos' demographic. /2 million cents Link to post Share on other sites
allardjd 1,853 Posted May 13, 2015 Report Share Posted May 13, 2015 "Look dahlings, I can get a bottle of Poufey DeCosta Mucho 1943 here in 30 minutes...watch" Without negating your point, which is perfectly valid, I suspect anything as weighty as a bottle of wine would be way beyond the weight range these things will be able to handle. Maybe a quarter-pound of Belgian chocolates or 100 ml of some ridiculously expensive perfume or a half-dozen fat Cuban cigars might work as well. How long till the drug dealers begin to use them so as not to be present at the point of delivery? John 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Captain Coffee 2,030 Posted May 13, 2015 Report Share Posted May 13, 2015 Wow..hope there are no drug dealers watching this forum John, or the low level airspace around Oakland and Richmond California is gonna get pretty sketchy...got the Crack App yet?. And yep...should have picked some fancy cheese for "my point" Link to post Share on other sites
MyPC8MyBrain 273 Posted May 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2015 yep, looks like someone already thought of that tooDrug delivery drone crashes in Mexicohttp://www.bbc.com/news/technology-30932395 Drug dealers are becoming drone hobbyists.http://www.networkworld.com/article/2874200/opensource-subnet/drug-delivery-drones-are-more-common-than-you-d-think.html 1 Link to post Share on other sites
MartinW 0 Posted May 14, 2015 Report Share Posted May 14, 2015 I suspect that the Only way to make this initially possible, is to make the drone delivery "30 minutes" deal so damned expensive that only the uber wealthy will be adding the service to their orders, as a lark/conversation item. "Look dahlings, I can get a bottle of Poufey DeCosta Mucho 1943 here in 30 minutes...watch"...in which case the drones will more than likely be delivering to fairly swanky/roomy properties...and the demand will be high only amoung the Neuvo Wealthy/Bezos' demographic. /2 million cents Could well be right. Some super rich, posh business man, needs his shoe box sized package super quick. His multibillion deal depends on it. Not a problem slapping down a 100 quid. Might still make it a viable service though, there are plenty of super rich around in need of a quick package. Link to post Share on other sites
brett 2,316 Posted May 15, 2015 Report Share Posted May 15, 2015 Even if this idea comes to fruition I will still end up with the lazy drone delivery guy that chuck my expensive box off from ten feet away up. Link to post Share on other sites
allardjd 1,853 Posted May 15, 2015 Report Share Posted May 15, 2015 I have to say our UPS and FedEx drivers are very good. They hustle, but are always polite and are careful about the packages and the property. Also - something new - Amazon has contracted with the US Postal Service who don't do Sunday delivery at all, ever, to provide Sunday delivery of Amazon Prime packages. We've received several on Sundays lately, via USPS trucks, which is quite a shocker. If only it would make the USPS profitable, but that's way too much to hope for. John Link to post Share on other sites
allardjd 1,853 Posted June 17, 2015 Report Share Posted June 17, 2015 "DELIVERY BY DRONE IN 30 MINUTES? AMAZON SAYS IT'S COMING"http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CONGRESS_DRONES?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-06-17-11-25-43 'Misener said Amazon does not yet have the logistical capability to receive and process orders, and then deliver packages by drone within a half hour. But, he added, "We will have it by the time the regulations are ready."' He doesn't address the part of "logistics" that would require establishing warehouse stocks of whatever inventory items would be available by drone within a short drone flight distance of significant numbers of people. That's the practical, logistical deal-breaker to me. Until they address that, I'm still inclined to believe this is either an elaborate publicity stunt or will be a very expensive premium service with a very limited set of items available, to a very limited group of customers. High-dollar, small, light luxury/self-indulgence items in high population density, high-income communities seems to me to be the only place this could work, much less be able to operate profitably. John Link to post Share on other sites
brett 2,316 Posted June 17, 2015 Report Share Posted June 17, 2015 Not to mention the rash of drone beatdowns we have been seeing by citizens lately. Link to post Share on other sites
MyPC8MyBrain 273 Posted June 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2015 high density areas are the worst to try and introduce this feature can you imagine someone in New York ordering an item; then stepping out of the office or building to receive it? it’s not coming in your mailbox, ooh yes here's the drone looking little to the right, little to the left ok im tight under it... oops I’m in the middle of the street, oops I was run over by truck waiting to catch my package, Link to post Share on other sites
allardjd 1,853 Posted June 17, 2015 Report Share Posted June 17, 2015 high density areas are the worst to try and introduce this feature I don't think NYC is a good market case, more because of the urban geography than anything else. The scenario you suggest is a great example of why that might not be a great place. It will require a reasonably high density of population and wealth, with a low-profile infrastructure topography. I'm thinking more of relatively open places like Hollywood, Silicon Valley, Palm Springs, Santa Barbara, West Palm Beach, parts of Long Island and the Connecticut shore, etc. where the nouveau riche don't live in Brownstone row houses. They have broad, open yards within their walled estates, in a landscape that's much more drone-friendly. The problem may come when the "household staff" in the next-door estate of Pablo, the cartel kingpin, mistakes an Amazon delivery drone for a DEA spy drone or a CIA mini-Predator hit-drone and unlimbers the MANPADs and triple-A. John Link to post Share on other sites
MyPC8MyBrain 273 Posted June 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2015 roflmao, oh no... my hand cream is dead! Link to post Share on other sites
MartinW 0 Posted June 18, 2015 Report Share Posted June 18, 2015 Until they address that, I'm still inclined to believe this is either an elaborate publicity stunt or will be a very expensive premium service with a very limited set of items available, to a very limited group of customers. As I said previously in this thread... "Amazon were accused of that in 2013. They assured shareholders it wasn't. Since then there have been 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th generation vehicles. In short they have spent plenty of dosh and employed 60 plus staff." So no, no way would I believe this was merely a publicity stunt. As for premium service, absolutely, could well be. Don't forget, this will be Amazon PRIME Air. The Amazon Prime service requires annual membership. I would imagine the drone service would have an additional and probably substantial extra charge. Yes it is "a limited set of items", in that the package has to be less than 2.26kg in weight and fit in the drones cargo box. And yes, I guess you could say a limited group of customers, because they have to be annual members and live within ten miles of an participating Amazon order fulfilment centre. My concern would be safety. Recently, Enrique Iglesias, the singer, had his finger sliced by a drone. He spent the rest of the concert with one bloody finger behind his back. Yes, he was daft enough to attempt to grab it, but it does demonstrate the potential hazard. I can envisage some kid playing on his drive and suddenly he has the urge to grab himself a new toy. Link to post Share on other sites
PCAviator 30 Posted June 18, 2015 Report Share Posted June 18, 2015 I think I would look forward to getting a free Amazon Prime Air lunchbox with every delivery Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew Godden 945 Posted June 18, 2015 Report Share Posted June 18, 2015 But other industries will cash in on this big time...Hollywood for one. This will spawn an entire new film industry with titles like: The Drones - a remake of the Hitchcock classic; Rogue Drone. Drones in Black, Drones in Black II, and Drones in Black III, stylised as DIB, DIB II, and DIB III; Attack of the Killer Drones - a comedy horror spoof of B movies; Planet of the Drones, and the sequels, Beneath the..., Escape from the..., Conquest of the..., and Battle for the....all starring Roddy McDowall in the lead role; Drone Wars, which will later be revealed to actually be the fourth movie, in an incorrectly named trilogy which now appears endless. The other two movies in the original trilogy would be: The Drones Strike Back; and Return of the Drones. A prequel trilogy would be revealed in this ever increasing inaptly named trilogy with: Drone Wars Episode I - The Drone Menace; Drone Wars Episode II - Attack of the Drones; Drone Wars Episode III - The Revenge of the Drones; followed eventually by the sequel trilogy with Drone Wars - The Drones Awaken, and two, as yet unnamed titles, using just the generic titles of Drone Wars Episode VIII and Drone Wars Episode IX. Made for TV and pay TV movies / series titles would include: Game of Drones; The X Drones; The Invisible Drone; The Six Million Dollar Drone; Charlie's Drones; Xena: Warrior Drone; and Dr Drone. 2 Link to post Share on other sites
allardjd 1,853 Posted June 18, 2015 Report Share Posted June 18, 2015 There was an incident last Christmas where some moron restaurant manager thought it would be a great idea to hang mistletoe from a drone and fly it around the restaurant, hovering over the heads of couples. It went predictably wrong and someone was injured - minor injuries, but I'm sure the lawyers are still adding zeroes to the end of the lawsuit bill three at a time. Stupid ought to hurt... John 1 Link to post Share on other sites
MyPC8MyBrain 273 Posted June 18, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2015 can’t wait to see the first drone burger joint, can i order while I’m in L.A. traffic and get delivered to my car? Link to post Share on other sites
allardjd 1,853 Posted June 18, 2015 Report Share Posted June 18, 2015 That would give a whole new meaning to the term "Hundred Dollar Hamburger". It's normal for you to fly to the burger - what you're suggesting is the burger flying to you. John Link to post Share on other sites
Captain Coffee 2,030 Posted June 18, 2015 Report Share Posted June 18, 2015 There was an incident last Christmas where some moron restaurant manager thought it would be a great idea to hang mistletoe from a drone and fly it around the restaurant, hovering over the heads of couples. It went predictably wrong and someone was injured - minor injuries, but I'm sure the lawyers are still adding zeroes to the end of the lawsuit bill three at a time. Stupid ought to hurt... John It's far more likely that a drone will get caught in your hair than a bat..just saying. Waits for a new class of drone phobics start marching on Washington. Link to post Share on other sites
MyPC8MyBrain 273 Posted June 18, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2015 we already have pizza coming to you on a scooter or a car, what’s a burger on a drone i don’t think you can order drinks though, damn... Link to post Share on other sites
allardjd 1,853 Posted June 18, 2015 Report Share Posted June 18, 2015 Most of the concerns with drones seem to be more related to privacy than to safety. Use by police and government in particular seems to raise people's hackles. Not sure why, in an era when many/most local police departments operate helicopters and when various forms of electronic surveillance, with and without search warrants, are rampant. Then there's the NSA, who are literally monitoring and analyzing all domestic electronic communications in some form or fashion. Drones are only a tiny part of that. Still not sure what Amazon hopes to gain by this - just don't see where the potential profits are. To me it appears to be expensive, logistically challenging and not very broadly applicable. If they do it at all it will only be in a few very carefully chosen, limited markets and the cost will be prohibitive to normal people. John Link to post Share on other sites
Captain Coffee 2,030 Posted June 18, 2015 Report Share Posted June 18, 2015 I wonder if it is part of a broader plan (don't wish to use the "C" word) to introduce commercial drone and specifically "autonomous" use, and establish a record of safety so that broader use of "automated" craft will be allowed in the future...whether they be robot cargo pilots, or robot commercial aircraft. Not using the C word... Link to post Share on other sites
MyPC8MyBrain 273 Posted June 18, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2015 I think If you take a truck over a years’ worth of activity, then compare gas costs, maintenance time and speeds, in some areas This can save allot of money for large operations, reduce loads on small package delivery, if one has to drive to the other side of town to deliver a 200-300 gram package it can get very expensive when done repeatedly; it will cut deep into your profit margins, Average Carrier Costs per Mile, 2011 - $1.706 Average Carrier Costs per Hour, 2011 - $68.21 http://www.glostone.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/ATRI-Operational-Costs-of-Trucking-2012.pdf Link to post Share on other sites
allardjd 1,853 Posted June 18, 2015 Report Share Posted June 18, 2015 I have to think the logistics costs of "distributed warehousing" to be able to provide half-hour service would dwarf that. John Link to post Share on other sites
Captain Coffee 2,030 Posted June 18, 2015 Report Share Posted June 18, 2015 If the warehouses were mostly automated, would that significantly reduce costs? As a courier, I have seen some interesting robo shelf retriever/stocking devices. With bar coding, laser readers, track systems...find a crappy piece of property no one wants, get a good deal and build prefab wharehouses with 3 or 4 employes clearing stock jams...or, make a deal with area city councils/mayors to renovate distressed properties for tax breaks...or...? And ya, it would still need to be limited selection of goods or the logistics would get crazy trying to make "Everything" under 2 pounds available...not going to happen. Link to post Share on other sites
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