Posted on 03/21/2015 11:31:22 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
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Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos (left) shows off Amazon PrimeAir drones to Charlie Rose of CBS News. (CBS)
San Francisco (KCBS) — Amazon scored a victory this week in its battle with government regulators over their plan to deliver products by drone.
The FAA has agreed to let the company fly Amazon Prime Air Drones… but with some big restrictions.
One of those restrictions is that drone operators must have a pilot’s license. I can tell you I have a pilot’s license and flying a regular airplane, like a Cessna, is very different from flying a drone. It’s a completely different skill set. I’m not sure why they would bother with this requirement. I’m not saying they shouldn’t be qualified but I think a whole different set of qualifications would make sense.
Another thing to consider… Amazon’s drone deal with the government is very restrictive. They can only fly at 400 feet. They can only fly over private property for now. And they have to be in line of sight with the pilot which means they’re not going to be able to really test how these things will operate in the real world. In reality, drones would leave Amazon’s distribution center somewhere in a metropolitan area and fly over land to someone’s home or office. There is no way a pilot could be in line of sight with a drone when these things are actually operating.
I would call this a very small victory for Amazon. At least they get to put them up in the air and see how they’ll fly. But they’re going to have a lot more work to do to actually see how these things will work over urban terrain.
Drones are already a reality for some businesses so their use for delivery is probably inevitable. Right now drones are used to check railroad tracks, survey farmland and other limited applications. I think there is a lot of potential for commercial drones. They’re already used in recreation… go to the beach and you’ll see people flying them everywhere.
There are still problems to solve, safety and privacy among them, but I have confidence that they will. I can eventually see FedEx and Amazon and other companies delivering packages via drone. It’s not going to be next year but I think it will happen at some point. Remember, planes were once a scary idea too.
So, If I shoot down one of these multi-thousand dollar drones, can I keep it?
Even though this commercial is an over-dramatizing humorous parody, it is closer to the truth than anyone wants to think about drones:
Audi lambastes Amazon's drone plans with wickedly humorous commercial
Audi is just being silly.
It will never work with my house and many many others that have covered poarches or other obstructions like vegetation. Putting the package on the driveway in full view of every car passing by is a non starter. Amazon is just trying to be a bit to cute for their own good.
How fitting that Charlie Rose would report on drones!
Good commercial.
I imagine then insurance costs alone will make this a non-starter.
In my mind, the Audi commercial is a parody of the Hitchcock movie The Birds
I don’t think I would want to invest in a company run by people who think this is a good idea.
These delivery drones are silly. But a delivery self driving robot using the streets is feasible.
They’d be great for drug dealers. Just send your GPS coordinates with your order on Silk Road and pay via BitCoin.
They are already being used for drug smuggling across the US-Mexico border.
Useful in some applications, not so much in city deliveries....flight level < 400ft, VFR only. Estimate less than 60% of VFR hours in mid-latitudes. Bad wind forecasts, wind gusts, etc. will create failures, liabilities.
Thugs will shoot them down to get the packages.
It’ll work. Look at how many drones we’re flying around in the WOT. Most logistical problems can be solved by throwing money and people at it, Amazon has tons of the first and can get the second.
First problem with these drones is air rights. Currently the FAA requires aircraft to remain 1000 feet above ground over densely populated areas. To deliver packages with drones, you are going to have to fly much closer to the ground, and go over several peoples' properties. And I hate to sound like some hothead, but if one of those comes over my property, a shotgun or baseball bat will be used to remedy the intrusion on my property.
Someone delivering a package from the USPS/UPS/FedEx is not considered a trespasser when walking on sidewalks of neighbors to get to the delivery address. However, someone violating air rights with a drone will be trespassing on your property, and you have the right to take action deemed necessary to protect your property.
I’m comparing the logistical difficulties of having a constant presence of dozens of armed drones in the air being flown on the other side of the planet as the operators to to the logistical difficulties or much more short term flight of unarmed drones probably being controlled by a guy in the same city.
You misread the FAA reqs. Aircraft have to remain 1000 ft above the ground. Drones are NOT aircraft. They’re RC planes, any idiot can buy one and fly it RIGHT NOW. You actually need to keep those BELOW 1000 ft so they don’t present a problem to aircraft. Depending on the quantity of teens in your neighborhood you probably already have drones flying over your property. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=drone
If the drone is delivering a package to you it’s got just as much right to be there as the UPS guy. You have functionally invited them. And again, you probably already have drones flying over your place, and you don’t even notice.
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Larry Magid