I have no dog in this fight, and of course it is complex But as I stressed in the OP, I am convinced that
initially for very particular circumstances this will become a standard method of delivery. And the reason its posted here and not JB for general discussion about drones, is that I imagine that they will become part of your world sooner than you think. I have already seen them interacting with ATC and manned aircraft (and autonomously with each other) and the political will seems to be there to make this happen. Currently the major limitation is not technical but regulatory, and even there it's around standards and conventions rather than fundamental acceptance.
Originally Posted by
DaveReidUK
Until the first one suffers a battery overrun or power failure and kills the poor soul whose head it lands on.
Of course fails and accidents will happen. Their mission fail rate is currently a lot higher than for manned aircraft, although their response time and weather independence is much better. They all have pretty sophisticated failsafes - mostly with a parachute in the event of a major systems failure. Of course they will never be risk free, but I suspect that a mix of engineering (they are being designed and built by the same people that design and build manned aircraft and spacecraft), regulation and tight flight corridors will make them very low risk compared to other means of delivering. And certainly
way safer than truck or motor bike.
Originally Posted by
Icanseeclearly
What will stop someone with a shotgun / big net bringing the drone down and stealing the goods?
i can see the potential uses for this in disaster relief or conflict areas but to deliver amazon parcels? Nope no need for it, the noise, the potential dangers and the question of who owns the lower airspace over ones property will be huge hurdles to overcome.
I think you have the wrong mental picture. These things weigh >10Kg and travel at >100kn. Except in landing or take-off hover, they will not be easy to stop without military grade hardware. And they won't be buzzing around randomly over your house they will fly high, silent and fast in corridors.
Originally Posted by
VolLibre
Amazon versus the British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association. Corporate colonisation versus the human spirit.
That is exactly why I love the concept. This is exactly the opposite of
Corporate colonisation versus the human spirit. This is not being led by Amazon, but by tiny groups organizing around particular human needs.