Drones for Delivering Packages....

violetwolf

violetwolf

Member
Are they nuts!? Let's discuss

To me there are a few glaringly obvious issues.

How will you receive your package? Will the drone dump it on your lawn and leave? (Local kids steal package.)

Drone waits for you to recover package before leaving. (Toddler plays with drone getting chopped up.) Toddler bleeds out.

Drone lands on family dog... Family dog attacks drone.. Dog bleeds out

Delivery is in sketchy neighborhood... vandals steal drone..

What if you live in an apartment?

Please continue.. I've left out dozens of scenarios ;)
 


dazzab

dazzab

Member
Drone drops package in to drone chute on top of house that only opens to drone's signal. If house doesn't have new drone chute capability it drops it down the chimney. Except on Christmas day.
 

ProfEngr

ProfEngr

Member
I've often wondered myself just how the heck they plan to 'engineer' the endpoint hand-off to the customer. o_O

On the other hand, it could be 4g-based telemetry/control by an 'operator' back at home base. I'm suspecting each shipment will have to be supervised due to inherent errors in GPS vs address data. Probably need a phone call to the buyer announcing the delivery time. My bet is that drone delivery in the near future will only be to select areas with suitable, minimum conditions being met.

I haven't noticed a huge amount of lag viewing security cameras via 4g and with "commercial-grade" guidance/control systems it should be manageable. Amazon/Google do have huge wads of $$$ to throw at R&D for this. If not 4g, then some sort of dedicated RF/Satellite connection could give near realtime results.

Just my limited 2c.
 

Motopreserve

Motopreserve

Drone Enthusiast
I'm pretty sure the whole concept was to create a cottage industry of 'Amazon Drone Parody' videos - which have been both comical and well done. My guess is that Amazon is making money off the ads on YouTube, and never intend to actually attempt any drone deliveries :)
 

F

fengshuidrone

Guest
Funny stuff. I can't believe someone at Amazon actually announced their intention to deliver by drone before engineering one iota on what it would involve in reality.o_O
 

ProfEngr

ProfEngr

Member
Motopreserve said:
I'm pretty sure the whole concept was to create a cottage industry of 'Amazon Drone Parody' videos - which have been both comical and well done. My guess is that Amazon is making money off the ads on YouTube, and never intend to actually attempt any drone deliveries :)
Click to expand...

Hadn't thought of this, but you very well could be right. :rolleyes:
 

Old Man

Old Man

Active Member
fengshuidrone said:
Funny stuff. I can't believe someone at Amazon actually announced their intention to deliver by drone before engineering one iota on what it would involve in reality.o_O
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Look how much money those announcements have saved on the advertising budget. Every one of those press releases must be worth at least $10 million in free brand name advertising using every media outlet normally paid for the purpose.
 

F

fengshuidrone

Guest
Old Man said:
Look how much money those announcements have saved on the advertising budget. Every one of those press releases must be worth at least $10 million in free brand name advertising using every media outlet normally paid for the purpose.
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Yeah, and I guess they really didn't care that they came off looking like blundering buttwads for not thinking out details like these (involved in delivery by drone) in advance.
 


Oceans Eleven

Oceans Eleven

Wassup?
Motopreserve said:
I'm pretty sure the whole concept was to create a cottage industry of 'Amazon Drone Parody' videos - which have been both comical and well done. My guess is that Amazon is making money off the ads on YouTube, and never intend to actually attempt any drone deliveries :)
Click to expand...
Parody videos? You mean like the Hitler parody videos one can find on YouTube for just about ANY topic/issue? LOL!
 



violetwolf

violetwolf

Member
I'm in the "free publicity" camp myself. It certainly has people talking about Amazon!

I pitty the fools at the competition trying to copy them lol!! ... Oops sorry we were kidding!
 
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Old Man

Old Man

Active Member
fengshuidrone said:
Funny stuff. I can't believe someone at Amazon actually announced their intention to deliver by drone before engineering one iota on what it would involve in reality.o_O
Click to expand...

This happens all the time in the defense industry. The marketing people converse with the customers and hear the customers say they want this or that. The marketing people, having no real clue about the products they are selling, tell the customer "we can do that" and write a contract. About the time the contract is due for fulfillment they tell the engineers they need to have a such and such to fulfill the contract. Then the engineers are on the hook to develop and perfect a new product in time for the press release expounding on the new contract in half the time it took the marketing people to sell something they didn't have. After that the marketing and customer support people are angry with the engineers because the product has more bugs than an ant hill. True or not, it will be made out to be the fault of engineering...
 

F

fengshuidrone

Guest
Sheesh....now you got me feeling guilty for all the times I griped about the engineers where I used to work. I was a machine assembler and I ended up re-engineering half my builds because the engineers never finalized the drawings and made sure that part "A" actually fits with part "B". They were always giving us unfinished stuff to the point that I would often have to remind them to include an E-chain or I would have to engineer and design a part on my own that they omitted. We had a real problem with that and now I think I understand why. They were always telling me they were overworked and not given time to do things right.
 



Old Man

Old Man

Active Member
fengshuidrone said:
Sheesh....now you got me feeling guilty for all the times I griped about the engineers where I used to work. I was a machine assembler and I ended up re-engineering half my builds because the engineers never finalized the drawings and made sure that part "A" actually fits with part "B". They were always giving us unfinished stuff to the point that I would often have to remind them to include an E-chain or I would have to engineer and design a part on my own that they omitted. We had a real problem with that and now I think I understand why. They were always telling me they were overworked and not given time to do things right.
Click to expand...

That's why we have "techs". Without them nothing would ever make it to market. The day we get more than 85% of a finished and functional design out of engineering will be the end of the world. We techs need the engineers do the difficult part of design and general fit of the new stuff that originates as our ideas in order for us to make their design work functional afterwards. Then the engineers get to take credit for all of our hard work..... Bear in mind that 90% of engineers are not creators, they are parts shoppers. Too few have personal "hand's on" experience, which is necessary for effective comprehension. Cherish those engineers that are true innovators and creators of new products, have the hand's on experience to understand the pitfalls that need to be avoided or improved upon. My observations have engineering seriously understaffed and marketing in too much of a hurry to get things to market to allow the time needed to finalize designed functionality and production processes. If not for AS9100 documentation there would be almost no way to keep track of what the process was that got everything to the point of incompletion they were at.

That's just the way it is. If you lack the credential you're not given any credit. Just be satisfied for a job well done as our companies continue to remain in business and generating our salaries.
 
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