Amazon says months!?!

[sarangan]

It would take an awful lot of drones to add up to the environmental impact of even a single airliner.

Lawnmowers are 80-100dB according to various sources on google including yours. String trimmers are 110dB. These will operate on average as far away from you as that at the least. I couldn't find any sources for the M600 sound wise but not every delivery is going to be with a drone. Far from it. These will only be deliveries where it makes sense to do so and the customer wants to pay for the service. Not every package going to every home is going to be done by drone.

Just the decibels is not what bothers people. It is the unfamiliarity of the noise, how sustained it is and their own preconceived notion about the noise. My neighborhood has been complaining about airport noise even though lawn mowers, barking dogs and muscle cars create far more noise. My prediction is that consumers will stop being bothered by drone noise once they start getting their speedy deliveries.

 

[Kenny Phillips]

I'm glad to see a positive note about this.

I read an article recently about Lowe's getting in on this too. I think it's great. Do you know how many times I make a trip to the store for just one or two items, then back to town for something I'd forgotten or didn't know I needed? Right now I know I need more trimmer line from the hardware store (I prefer a certain brand) and I would gladly pay an extra $5 to have it delivered.

It's not something I'd use for bulk shopping like buying a cartload of stuff at Wal-Mart. But I'd use it a few times a week for odds and ends.

It's 0.4 miles as the drone flies from my fixer-upper house to Lowe's! I usually drive, but if they can drop ten bags of mulch with a drone, I'd pay just to see it.

 

[Sluggo63]

Amazon had better hurry up... they just lost one of their transportation providers. Hopefully, UPS follows suit soon.

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/07/amazon-fedex-end-shipping-contract-in-us.html

 

[Palmpilot]

It's 0.4 miles as the drone flies from my fixer-upper house to Lowe's! I usually drive, but if they can drop ten bags of mulch with a drone, I'd pay just to see it.

I'll be interested in seeing how the Amazon Web site describes the limits of and requirements for drone delivery once they start the service.

 

[Palmpilot]

One thing I'm wondering is whether Amazon's drones will be autonomous, as opposed to remotely piloted. The article in the OP's link makes it sound like the former, which seems like a tall order, especially in an urban environment.

 

[benyflyguy]

I'll be interested in seeing how the Amazon Web site describes the limits of and requirements for drone delivery once they start the service.

What are the current limits given technology?? Range? Weight? Weather considerations??

 

[MauleSkinner]

One thing I'm wondering is whether Amazon's drones will be autonomous, as opposed to remotely piloted. The article in the OP's link makes it sound like the former, which seems like a tall order, especially in an urban environment.

What are the current limits given technology?? Range? Weight? Weather considerations??

What FAR part are they operating under? Part 107 doesn’t allow for autonomous operations, or even beyond line-of-sight of somebody associated with the operator.

 

[Sundancer]

I hope they navigate with GPS - I'll be the most successful (porch) pirate in history! A car battery, some software, and a few other parts, and I'll have a massive supply of shoe strings, high-end coffee, gummy bears, tasteful kitchen utensils, wet wipes, and fidget spinners. . .

Once I'm fully stocked, I'll have 'em flying procedure turns, then holding, until the batterys die.

 

[deyoung]

What FAR part are they operating under? Part 107 doesn’t allow for autonomous operations, or even beyond line-of-sight of somebody associated with the operator.

My guess is they'll roll out first in Europe while they work out the details with the FAA.

 

[overdrive148]

What FAR part are they operating under? Part 107 doesn’t allow for autonomous operations, or even beyond line-of-sight of somebody associated with the operator.

Part 333 Exemption. It's also possible to fly autonomously under Part 107 - you just have to have a remote PIC monitoring the flight (I do orthographic inspections where the drone flies itself, I just stand there sipping coffee ready to take control). You can get a waiver specifically for beyond visual line of sight under Part 107 as well.

 

[Lachlan]

I spilled coffee on my keyboard yesterday morning while I was getting urgent worked done, and it shorted out.

Ordered a new keyboard via Amazon Prime, went and made breakfast, and 35 minutes later the new keyboard was on my doorstep. This is neither for lack of planning nor "not a life essential".

Where I live (10 miles away from Amazon HQ) we've moved on from next day or even same day shipping. 1 hour shipping is where it's at. But if you don't live within 10 miles from Amazon they will probably need drones and other tricks to make that a reality for more people.

I disagree about poor planning in this case. In procrastinating, you caused the work you were attempting to accomplish to be deemed urgent. You wasted precious life moments and put yourself under a shortened deadline. Your failure to plan for a work area and a separate break room for consumption of victuals allowed you to place a liquid near in incompatible solid. Furthermore, your insistence on stocking the work are with said liquid was clumsily executed both by the spill, and by a lack of prior planning to contain the beverage in a spill-proof travel cup. Hope this process improvement analysis helps get your bushes elevated to the next level, where “Bring your dog to work day” can present additional challenges couples with insurmountable joy.

 

[Crashnburn]

With the way my wife orders from amazon they might as well plot an RNAV approach for my front door

I resemble that remark.

 

[Somedudeintn]

I’ll be waiting for when I can get my lunch delivered to the office by drone!

 

[Jim_R]

Everything that we have ever bought from amazon came via their regular or standard shipping methods and times. We’ve never paid for any sort of expedited shipping. I don’t see us ever using the current same day service or the future drone service. Is the need for this service that great? What are people ordering that they must have that quickly? If it’s a life essential, some folks must be terrible at planning. If it’s not a life essential, why not wait?

Have you ever ordered a pizza delivered? Even if you answer "no" (which would shock me...who hasn't ever ordered a pizza at some point in their life?), can you at least understand why some people who are different from you might find that service attractive? Once you grant that, is it really so hard to imagine that some folks would be interested in the ability to order something other than a pizza and having it delivered quickly?

 

[airdale]

California will probably require them to do an environmental impact study before being allowed operate. That should take about 50 years in the court system.

And the weight of the cancer warning stickers will cut significantly into payload capability.