The Future of Package Delivery (and Expediting?)

[ATeam]

Amazon recently introduced its Prime Air delivery concept in which drones are used to fly small packages instantly from the warehouse that receives the customer order directly to the customer's doorstep.

You can read more about it here.

Drones come in all shapes and sizes and can handle cargo of all sizes. Some fly, some drive. I know of none that do both but it is not a stretch to imagine such a thing.

I believe it is likely that those large cargo planes used by FedEx and UPS to move their overnight packages will be among the first to be approved for commercial use as drones.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

In my case for example we live about hundred and 50 miles from the nearest FedEx terminal... That is a 300 mile round-trip for a 5 pound box

 

[ATeam]

In my case for example we live about hundred and 50 miles from the nearest FedEx terminal... That is a 300 mile round-trip for a 5 pound box

So, will it be cheaper to deliver your needed medication or new Rolex watch straight-through, exclusive-use, instant shipping (if you want straight-through, exclusive-use, instant shipping) by drone or by exclusive-use delivery van?

If it was a FedEx Supply Chain warehouse from which the item would be shipped, would FedEx prefer to send a drone or a driver?

 

[dwd58]

Crack heads will be shooting those drones down quicker than Amazon can put them in the air

 

[xiggi]

Saw this on 60 minutes last night. They said if it was available today the limit would be 10 miles one way from a fulfilment center.

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[OntarioVanMan]

In my case I have seen FedEx transfer the FedEx express package onto a FedEx ground contractor...

 

[ATeam]

Saw this on 60 minutes last night. They said if it was available today the limit would be 10 miles one way from a fulfilment center.

The technology will further develop and the possibilities too. The drone in the video looks like it is battery powered. Other types of drones can stay in the air for many hours if not more than a day and cover great distances. And remember, drones can drive on the roads too. With taxi cabs, pizza delivery, over-the-road trucking and a host of other services, the future of drones is bright.

 

[ATeam]

Here's more about drones:

Drone heavy-lift helicopter

Drone careers and changing avation laws

Tech Crunch article: Enter the Dronenet

FedEx Founder Fred Smith Wants Drones

"As he notes, a modern 777 is already capable of being an unmanned vehicle. "They let the pilots touch the controls for about 20 seconds, to advance the throttles, and then the plane takes over," he said, only half-kidding. The truth is that the plane can take off, fly and land itself. Today pilots drive the planes on the ground, but there's no reason why the computer can't do that, too."

 

[RoadTime]

I saw that also, pretty ambitious concept. Hmmm, maybe someday pizza delivery

 

[ATeam]

I saw that also, pretty ambitious concept. Hmmm, maybe someday pizza delivery

Pizza delivery by drone has already been done (video concept):

Domono's Pizza in UK uses drone to deliver pizzas

 

[EnglishLady]

"The UAVs do not currently have the awareness of their environment to be able to avoid flying into people. To deliver goods to people's homes for example in residential areas, the UAVs must overfly densely populated towns and cities, something that today's regulations prevent. "

Could be nasty if you are working in the garden !



"Other things to consider are security of the goods during the transit. With no one to guard them the aircraft and package could be captured and stolen," he said.

Follow that drone

Excerpts taken from ...
BBC News - Amazon testing drones for deliveries

 

[layoutshooter]

"The UAVs do not currently have the awareness of their environment to be able to avoid flying into people. To deliver goods to people's homes for example in residential areas, the UAVs must overfly densely populated towns and cities, something that today's regulations prevent. "

Could be nasty if you are working in the garden !



"Other things to consider are security of the goods during the transit. With no one to guard them the aircraft and package could be captured and stolen," he said.

Follow that drone

Excerpts taken from ...
BBC News - Amazon testing drones for deliveries

Don't work in the garden.

 

[Bruno]

With so many rules the FAA has I doubt this may come to light for five or six years.

 

[ATeam]

With so many rules the FAA has I doubt this may come to light for five or six years.

The FAA is under orders from Congress to have rules about drones out by 2015. I don't know if they'll have it all done by then but large cargo planes seem to be the easy part. We may see drone cargo planes soon.

 

[WanderngFool]

A few months ago I posted about driverless trucks being on the horizon and no one spoke to me for a week. And now y'all seem like you're in a hurry to lose your livelihood. If Amazon proves they can do this safely, (and I believe it's been approved in Australia so they've got a testbed), it gives a green light to google and driverless everything.

Fleet owners might benefit but I can imagine profit margins getting squeezed in a big way with only the biggest companies able to cope. Drivers and O/Os will of course be screwed.

I'd like to see congress slow down the adoption of these technologies and at least give the younger folks time to retrain.

And besides all that, these Amazon drones are going to sound like giant mosquitoes!!!

 

[tknight]

Can't wait for duck hunting season!

 

[tknight]

[

If it was a FedEx Supply Chain warehouse from which the item would be shipped, would FedEx prefer to send a drone or a driver?[/QUOTE]


If the drop is in Detroit I'm betting drone futures!

 

[spongebox1]

Let us reflect on the " back to the future " movies for a minute,, if memory serves me the movies were 20+ years back and it was filled with these types of things and I recall watching and thinking that that would never happen, here we are today and its only a matter of time! Now if the Cubs win a world series I will start to get nervous about the future....

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[pearlpro]

Its the unexpected things that will need to be overcome, a HAWK might attack a drone, flying into Powerlines or a buildings antenna, Rednecks bored in the duck blind...the family dog brings the drone up to the house ...but if these things are used say in a Urban only environ, say NYC...and the landing spots are on the tops of buildings, far away from the public etc...might work easily....Thats why the ten mile limit on battery power, and then back to the Warehouse and recharging, and back out.....If Amazon opened Pandoras box I see CVS, Walgreens, and other small package delivery lending itself to the possibility....skys filled with Quadracopter armys .....

The day will come MAN will be standing in the dirt, watching commerce move all around him, wirelessly and free of MAN....Will life be better ??? When MAN is removed from the picture completely and autonomous devices do all meaningless tasks, freeing man to do what.....

WORK AS A DRONE REPAIR MAN....Or stare out from under the bridge from the broken delivery van and say I USED TO BE A TRUCKER....

SKYNET DELIVERY.....Jobs wanted.....Drone Polisher.....Drone Propeller Installer.....Lost Drone Finder....maybe this isnt funny at all !!!

 

[bikerpaul]

I think that just about everybody is forgetting that they said that the drones are years away from reality.