Weekly grocery shop delivered to door by Drone ?
I would go for a home made EM weapon fashioned out of a couple of old microwave ovens and sundry other electrical gubbins. Far quieter and much less likely to attract the attentions of the rozzers. Would also leave payload (more or less) intact.
At the top end of the unmanned delivery spectrum is the K-MAX - used successfully in Afghanistan by the USMC:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTxC0gtuRME
K-MAX · Lockheed Martin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTxC0gtuRME
K-MAX · Lockheed Martin
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I tend to support BEagle's assertion of "ridiculous". There are just too many variables in an urban environment for such a system to be viable. However, the suggestion has certainly got people talking about Amazon, which is possibly the intention.
I do wonder whether this project is, perhaps, staffed by Amazon Prime employees Clarkson, May and Hammond?
I do wonder whether this project is, perhaps, staffed by Amazon Prime employees Clarkson, May and Hammond?
Filming in austere or difficult locations, disaster site surveillance, anti-terrorist surveillance and the delivery of critical medical or life saving items to remote locations are obvious areas for the use of small drones.
Using a drone instead of a bike courier to deliver urgent documents is highly unlikely, due to the confidential nature of such documents - which is probably why they're sent by bike in the first place.
But drones buzzing around bringing Kevin the latest breed of iToy, or delivering Mrs Miggins' pies? Very unlikely indeed - listening to recent discussions in the media, it seems that privacy and safety are the two main reasons why the genpub won't tolerate swarms of the wretched things buzzing about. And as for the silly idea of them roosting on top of street lights....
Using a drone instead of a bike courier to deliver urgent documents is highly unlikely, due to the confidential nature of such documents - which is probably why they're sent by bike in the first place.
But drones buzzing around bringing Kevin the latest breed of iToy, or delivering Mrs Miggins' pies? Very unlikely indeed - listening to recent discussions in the media, it seems that privacy and safety are the two main reasons why the genpub won't tolerate swarms of the wretched things buzzing about. And as for the silly idea of them roosting on top of street lights....
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Mobile phones?
Ridiculous!
Why would you want a camera on a phone?
Ridiculous!
Fridges with internet connections?
Never going to happen!
Computers in the home?
Don't be silly!
Buy books online?!
.............?
Ridiculous!
Why would you want a camera on a phone?
Ridiculous!
Fridges with internet connections?
Never going to happen!
Computers in the home?
Don't be silly!
Buy books online?!
.............?
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They of course have many more variables and enormously higher potential consequences of something goes wrong, yet here we are, only a couple of years later with many many autonomous cars and trucks trialing on real roads all over the uk.
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Self driving cars?
No problem?
https://www.theguardian.com/technolo...r-harry-potter
Some of these robotic devices are too stupid to be trusted. Such as the Volvo Intellisafe, I think it was, which suddenly slammed on the brakes when a bird took off from the road in front of it, entering HAL's radar sensor beam...
No problem?
https://www.theguardian.com/technolo...r-harry-potter
Some of these robotic devices are too stupid to be trusted. Such as the Volvo Intellisafe, I think it was, which suddenly slammed on the brakes when a bird took off from the road in front of it, entering HAL's radar sensor beam...
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Our robot vaccum cleaner can be staggeringly stupid at times, with a poor sense of self preservation.
And I repeat my earlier comment ... how do they avoid the miles of overhead cables in suburbia?
And I repeat my earlier comment ... how do they avoid the miles of overhead cables in suburbia?
Some friends had one of those - one night it suddenly decided that it would be a good time to start hoovering at 0-dark-00. They heard this thumping noise downstairs and thought that they had an intruder... She was just about to ring the police when he realised what had happened - the idiot robot had reset its timer for some reason.
I wonder whether these autobrake cruise control systems work in tunnels nowadays? At the press launch of the S-class some years ago, M-B decided that a demo of such a system would be more realistic in foggy conditions, so duly filled a warehouse with artificial fog. The intention was to demonstrate the system by driving one car into the fog, then stopping - and the other was supposed to sense the stationary vehicle and brake safely to a halt. Then the engineers realised that radar reflections bouncing around the interior might confuse the system. The journos had been invited, so a workaround cheat was set up - a piece of wood across the course would be felt by the second driver, who would brake to a halt in the fog as soon as he felt the bump......
Come the day, the first car went in, followed by the second. A screech of tyres and a sudden crash, followed by 2 rather badly damaged S-class....
It seems that someone had tidied up for the visiting journos - "What idiot left this piece of wood lying about"....
Anyway, back to aviation. There is an increasing feeling that millennial Children of the Magenta are becoming so seduced by automation that they've lost the ability to cope if things aren't going to plan. They fight with the automation rather than ICO'ing the AFS and flying the aeroplane even in 8/8 blue skies...
I wonder whether these autobrake cruise control systems work in tunnels nowadays? At the press launch of the S-class some years ago, M-B decided that a demo of such a system would be more realistic in foggy conditions, so duly filled a warehouse with artificial fog. The intention was to demonstrate the system by driving one car into the fog, then stopping - and the other was supposed to sense the stationary vehicle and brake safely to a halt. Then the engineers realised that radar reflections bouncing around the interior might confuse the system. The journos had been invited, so a workaround cheat was set up - a piece of wood across the course would be felt by the second driver, who would brake to a halt in the fog as soon as he felt the bump......
Come the day, the first car went in, followed by the second. A screech of tyres and a sudden crash, followed by 2 rather badly damaged S-class....
It seems that someone had tidied up for the visiting journos - "What idiot left this piece of wood lying about"....
Anyway, back to aviation. There is an increasing feeling that millennial Children of the Magenta are becoming so seduced by automation that they've lost the ability to cope if things aren't going to plan. They fight with the automation rather than ICO'ing the AFS and flying the aeroplane even in 8/8 blue skies...
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Case closed.
Re your question about the power lines.
They see the lines.
Watch the YouTube video I posted. This was made by students at uni on a budget, not Amazon with unlimited funds
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Pointing out that the law has not changed but has merely been relaxed to allow a trial to take place is hardly nit-picking.
Where technology is concerned Western Governments are extremely reluctant to appear to be obstructive, lest they miss the boat on something important, so it's a no-brainer that these ideas will be supported, especially when someone else is picking up the bill.
Obviously drone delivery has moved beyond science fiction; equally obviously it is a long way from being operational...and peeps should not cherry pick lists of things that have matured to common use...there are plenty of inventions that never managed to become mainstream items.
In the end, drone delivery will become a realistic option if there is a real human need, which can profited upon, and it is economically and commercially viable.
Personally I suspect we are someway from that at the moment, but I'm no drone expert. I'm a little more sure of my ground, when I point out that Amazon are getting a ton of cheap advertising out of this, so there's a motivation if you are looking for one.
I'm a little surprised that these things are impervious to weather however. How does a drone contend with a 30 knot headwind? Or hail? Or icing? Given I live Scotland, these conditions are hardly unusual or extreme 6 months of the year.
I kinda wondering a about the cost of procuring an all weather drone, that can operate IMC, beyond line of sight, with the fuel and payload performance to deliver meaningful items, with an onboard collision avoidance suite???
Can you get these off the shelf already for few hundred bucks?? If so, i'm impressed.
Edit...hey I just found one...$43000...
MAX flight time : (with payload 8KG) ± 40 min (X8)
MAX operational flight time : (with payload 2KG) ± 67 min (X8)
MAX range : (Endurance based on a 5m/s speed) 20 Km (X8)
MAX forward speed : 15 m/s
MAX climb rate : 5 m/s
MAX descent rate : 2.5 m/s
MAX operational altitude : (ASL) ± 5000 m
MAX range (Radio) : 34 km
MAX range (Video feed from drone) : 34 km
MAX operating wind speed : ± 10 m/s
MIN operating temperature : -5 °C
MAX operating temperature : +50 °C
http://www.airbornedrones.co/collections/a2-systems
Where technology is concerned Western Governments are extremely reluctant to appear to be obstructive, lest they miss the boat on something important, so it's a no-brainer that these ideas will be supported, especially when someone else is picking up the bill.
Obviously drone delivery has moved beyond science fiction; equally obviously it is a long way from being operational...and peeps should not cherry pick lists of things that have matured to common use...there are plenty of inventions that never managed to become mainstream items.
In the end, drone delivery will become a realistic option if there is a real human need, which can profited upon, and it is economically and commercially viable.
Personally I suspect we are someway from that at the moment, but I'm no drone expert. I'm a little more sure of my ground, when I point out that Amazon are getting a ton of cheap advertising out of this, so there's a motivation if you are looking for one.
I'm a little surprised that these things are impervious to weather however. How does a drone contend with a 30 knot headwind? Or hail? Or icing? Given I live Scotland, these conditions are hardly unusual or extreme 6 months of the year.
I kinda wondering a about the cost of procuring an all weather drone, that can operate IMC, beyond line of sight, with the fuel and payload performance to deliver meaningful items, with an onboard collision avoidance suite???
Can you get these off the shelf already for few hundred bucks?? If so, i'm impressed.
Edit...hey I just found one...$43000...
MAX flight time : (with payload 8KG) ± 40 min (X8)
MAX operational flight time : (with payload 2KG) ± 67 min (X8)
MAX range : (Endurance based on a 5m/s speed) 20 Km (X8)
MAX forward speed : 15 m/s
MAX climb rate : 5 m/s
MAX descent rate : 2.5 m/s
MAX operational altitude : (ASL) ± 5000 m
MAX range (Radio) : 34 km
MAX range (Video feed from drone) : 34 km
MAX operating wind speed : ± 10 m/s
MIN operating temperature : -5 °C
MAX operating temperature : +50 °C
http://www.airbornedrones.co/collections/a2-systems
Last edited by The Old Fat One; 29th Jul 2016 at 14:21.
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30kt headwind means that they will go 30kts slower. Have a look at the speed of the current racing quads let alone toys like the Amazon model.
Hail no issue.
Icing don't know. Maybe, but then icing also affects delivery trucks.
Beyond line of sight no problem because not flown by a pilot.
Onboard collision avoidance see previous video or the plethora of other YouTube vids of cheapy UAVs under development with avoidance tech.
Hail no issue.
Icing don't know. Maybe, but then icing also affects delivery trucks.
Beyond line of sight no problem because not flown by a pilot.
Onboard collision avoidance see previous video or the plethora of other YouTube vids of cheapy UAVs under development with avoidance tech.
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Guys I think some of you guys don't quite get the resources that these squillionaires have backing them up.
The Tesla guy has managed to produce rockets that come back and land vertically on a pad on a boat.
All cheaper than NASA.
https://youtu.be/_ZXu_rYF51M
You think little delivery toys are a stretch?
Seriously?
The Tesla guy has managed to produce rockets that come back and land vertically on a pad on a boat.
All cheaper than NASA.
https://youtu.be/_ZXu_rYF51M
You think little delivery toys are a stretch?
Seriously?
The technology might work, but whether the general public will tolerate delivery drones buzzing around I very much doubt.
Your Internet fridge doesn't affect others, but a delivery drone would. Seriously!
Your Internet fridge doesn't affect others, but a delivery drone would. Seriously!
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I'm presently drawing planning-permission-type plans for a new parking area outside Jim's brother's cottage, and was musing with the idea of painting a large "D" in the centre and fixing a small windsock to the gatepost. However, looking out of the window, I just can't imagine seeing Amazon, TNT and Yodel inn an automated stack over the village, peeling off to thread their way through the power and telephone lines to deliver my technological requirements - and shirts purchased by Jim's sister-in-law. I have no doubt that this is all possible, but what is possible must always be tempered by what is sensible...
...and economic. Amazon clearly thinks it's worth funding the feasibility project because they will receive enormous exposure - even on Pprune! - but when it comes to comparing the cost of a drone delivery system with the cost of the pleasant chap-in-the-van who usually delivers here, there will be no contest.
These drones are extremely clever, and there is no doubt that Amazon's research will have useful spin-offs in many areas, but I don't think they'll be spinning-off in Jim's brother's new parking area. Pity, I've always wanted my own windsock!
...and economic. Amazon clearly thinks it's worth funding the feasibility project because they will receive enormous exposure - even on Pprune! - but when it comes to comparing the cost of a drone delivery system with the cost of the pleasant chap-in-the-van who usually delivers here, there will be no contest.
These drones are extremely clever, and there is no doubt that Amazon's research will have useful spin-offs in many areas, but I don't think they'll be spinning-off in Jim's brother's new parking area. Pity, I've always wanted my own windsock!
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Seems to me that drones could suffer massively from confliction, weather, obstructions, interference, lack of payload, lack of range etc etc.
Let's have a trial to find out.
Let's have a trial to find out.