Overhead deliveries

Will the skies be safe from deliveries?

  • Yes - a lot of R&D has gone into making it viable

    Votes: 17 27.9%

  • No - those things are going to be a hazard

    Votes: 32 52.5%

  • Undecided

    Votes: 12 19.7%
  • Total voters
    61
bwana

bwana

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With Amazon getting approval for the trialing of commercial drone deliveries in the US do you feel the skies, and the ground below, will be safe from mishap or misadventure?

What about if Takealot decided they were taking to the skies?
 
I wouldn't mind seeing them try. The innovative cretins in our beloved country aside, it will add a new dimension to express delivery.
 
How are you going to do deliveries while the drone cannot last more than 30 min? (realistically speaking) and while flight time is a concern, another concern, how are you going to do deliveries fast enough? Here in my hometown, airspace is a concern for me, because I don't know the whereabouts of low flying aircraft. (Due to COVID-19, no one is really flying their ultralight anymore, we have a few farmers in the area that flies with their Cessna)
That means before flying delivery drones, they have to be registered and report stats via ADS-B.
The pilots should also have the training to operate the drones.

So no, normal deliveries is fine tho. (probably more cost effective and less worries of your neighbor shooting down the drone, because the thing is in his/her airspace)
Unless you need to get urgently to a place where no car can get to fast enough, then yes, do the delivery via drone.
 
RuhanSA079 said:
How are you going to do deliveries while the drone cannot last more than 30 min? (realistically speaking) and while flight time is a concern, another concern, how are you going to do deliveries fast enough? Here in my hometown, airspace is a concern for me, because I don't know the whereabouts of low flying aircraft. (Due to COVID-19, no one is really flying their ultralight anymore, we have a few farmers in the area that flies with their Cessna)
That means before flying delivery drones, they have to be registered and report stats via ADS-B.
The pilots should also have the training to operate the drones.

So no, normal deliveries is fine tho. (probably more cost effective and less worries of your neighbor shooting down the drone, because the thing is in his/her airspace)
Unless you need to get urgently to a place where no car can get to fast enough, then yes, do the delivery via drone.
Click to expand...
This might answer some of your questions: https://blog.aboutamazon.com/transportation/a-drone-program-taking-flight
 
I doubt it will happen any time soon. Despite the marketing hype and Amazon's tests, I can't see how this will be remotely practical with current technology. Until they develop batteries with a much higher power to weight ratio this won't be in any way practical or cost effective at scale. And when it does happen I don't think collisions will be much of an issue as that is a software problem that is already mostly solved.

The main issue will be around security and delivery - where does the drone leave the package safely, how does it ensure that it isn't intercepted, etc.

Maybe one approach would be to require clients who want drone deliveries to install "drone delivery stations" - i.e. something like a secure box that the drone can land on, latch on to and drop it's goods into. An added feature is that the drone delivery stations could include charging points so that the drone could recharge before it leaves, which would effectively double it's range (i.e. it wouldn't need range to go both ways).
 
garp said:
Maybe one approach would be to require clients who want drone deliveries to install "drone delivery stations" - i.e. something like a secure box that the drone can land on, latch on to and drop it's goods into.
Click to expand...
Dropping deliveries at the front door is commonplace in the US so I'm not sure why a delivery station would be necessary there.

Charging would be useful but also time consuming. If they're doing a 24km delivery radius it would be quicker and safer to recharge/replace the battery there. Plus what happens if the drone gets to the waypoint and the charger is damaged/faulty and it cannot return?

EDIT: 24km covers a fair amount of area.

Screen Shot 2020-09-02 at 12.54.19.png
 
Forget about our safety, won't everyone please think of the drones?

African skies after Amazon release their delivery drones over here..

1599043897514.png
 
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