Attack of the drones!
 

What do you think?


Aug 31 (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc's drone service has received federal approval that will allow the company to begin testing commercial deliveries through its drone fleet, the e-commerce giant said on Monday.
Amazon Prime Air, the company's special service delivering packages in 30 minutes or less, has been approved by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to test delivering orders using autonomous drones.

The pilot program was started in our town https://uavcoach.com/christiansburg-drone-delivery/ They have been delivering here for several months now. Not sure what the weight limit is they can carry, probably no more than a couple pounds. Suckers are fast too. Just waiting for someone to shoot one down.

Eagles and Hawks accept this challenge. ;)

I think they are VASTLY under estimating the pranking ability of the general public ... it will become a popular fad to capture their drones, which by necessity will be very expensive. People will find a way to bypass their security features almost instantly and will part out their drones like stripping a stolen car.

And just plain "shooting" down their drones will become huge, Net Guns, paint ball guns, various booby traps etc. Put on a mask and nab yourself a drone full of expensive parts and whatever package it was carrying.

It's possible I guess that the losses will be more economical than a surfaced based delivery system, so they might be willing to eat the drone losses.

Absolute truth right there! Too much of a challenge for some to resist.

Different regions and demographics will certainly play a roll.

Us fellers up here in WV like to give things a sport'en chance... say 500 yds.


Frank

Great! As long as their deliveries would actually arrive on time, I'm all for it.

Great. Now I've got that song stuck in my head again.

Hast du etwas Zeit für mich, Dann singe ich ein Lied für dich
Still, an afternoon spent "sky fishing" doesn't sound that bad.


https://i.imgur.com/7u8j2kC.jpg

If my sill plates get bent on landing, I’m not gonna be a happy camper. :mad:

I can picture Bubba posing,with rifle in hand,standing over his trophy kill.

Don't worry Maw "MaryAnnWinchester" just have em fetch it to the porch next time.

Where you can use both barrels on it... :)


Frank

The landings might be sketchy too if anyone has an animal that aggressively protects his territory, I can picture dogs and cats lying in wait for the drone to get close.

Your right! never thought about that, thanks for the tip.

Gonna havta tie Guss up so's I can skin that thing proper.


Frank

If you live anywhere close to an airport or Military base I can't see this service available since they are air space restricted.

Wait till the first time one of them drop a package on someone by accident.

True that I have an attack Dachshund and Corgi.

Drone package lives matter!;)

What a great idea! What could possibly go wrong? I cant wait to see drones snagged in trees and power lines. It's going to be great.

Within days people will be marking out the main flight paths on the internet, which will quickly be attacked with helium balloons, nets tossed in the air, wires strung up, a dozen people with Nerf Ball guns, all kinds of objects tied together with cord, and probably electronic counter measures will be tried until someone finds something that works.

Just a guess, but I'm thinking they may schedule the deliveries at night when the liability window is smaller ... which in a perfect world would be a good idea, but will probably just end up offering cover for the assailants .. although ... might be hard to spot a black drone at night .... my guess is they would be required to have LED beacon lights though if flown at night.

I can picture all kinds of fun and games at Amazon's expense. The concept might work in some of the more sheepish European cultures ... but in the US .... "free" stuff flying through the air unsupervised ... ehhhh ... going to be tempting for anyone with just a bit of shenanigans left in their hearts.

I haven't checked into it again lately, but when Amazon was first looking for "private contractors" to do their deliveries in my areas - using your own vehicle - the requirements were very stringent towards your personal vehicle.
It didn't add up for the money being offered.

Then there was all the negative feedback from those who did make a go of it, about low income and unsteady work.

Maybe the drones can pull them through.
I see lots of room for error and mishaps.
Also sabotage by former and current disgruntled delivery employees, on top of the thrill seekers.

I think we all would love to blast one or two for recreation,
they will have their work cut out for them.

Amazon is not the only one doing this?
I know google has already got the OK, plus some others which I'm not sure of their names. (insurance companies, UPS, Fedex,?)

Then add all the drones every other person has, I'd be surprised if any could go very far and get back in one piece.

Should be interesting.

:)

Guy had one drop a package on the back of his pickup, didnt take long for them to show up to get it. From what ive seen they dont land, their is a cable that lowers the delivery down. Think they have a 5 to 6 mile flight range

Wonder how they deliver to front doors that are under trees or a covered front porch?
How do the get packages into businesses, stores, offices, condos or apartments?

I would assume they don't. They haven't said this method of delivery will work in all situations.

I saw one of their contractors in action over the weekend driving a late model Volvo. He rolled into the cul-de-sac, stopped in the street, and proceeded to unload packages from the trunk into the street, transfer packaged from totes from the back seat into the trunk and then stack packages the packages from the street into the back seat. He got distracted by his wife or girlfriend ride-along, hopped back in the car and drove off leaving a couple packages sitting in the street.

He must have checked his rearview as he drove off and screeched to a stop, ran back for the packages and then drove off. It was pretty amusing.

It will probably be limited to very dense markets, a few square blocks in major cities, it's the only way it would make sense logistically. In a rural areas where trip time and length would be high, it would be very inefficient ... 50 two way drone trips versus 50 packages on one vehicle making one round.

What I don't understand is how in a very dense market like a city center ... they are going to actually deliver the packages to a recipient, they are going to have to go to a pickup box/point for each building like the mail does. I seriously doubt they are going to drop them off on the balcony or fly in through a window.

In a metropolitan area it possibly may even be required to physically accept the package, wouldn't be hard to figure flight time and send a confirmation text.

You make a good point about logistics, I would tend to think in rural areas it would only be offered for same, next or two day services justifying the trip and cost.


Frank