Amazon PrimeAir delivery.

[Ben]

Have you seen that Amazon is doing Sunday delivery through the post office?  [http://articles.latimes.com/2013/nov/10/business/la-fi-amazon-usps-20131109  For some reason we are getting the Sunday delivery now here in Cincinnati.  That could be due to the fact that there are major Amazon warehouses in Lexington and Louisville KY which are ~90 minutes from Cincinnati.

I did! I had one scheduled for this Sunday but they actually delivered on Saturday, so I thought it was a typo.

[Balog]

Ten minutes at maybe 20mph cruising speed is only 3.3 miles 

The page says 30 minutes, not sure why you keep saying 10.

And yeah, taking into account population center density, number of Amazon distro centers, and "as the crow flies" / no traffic travel times, most (ie %51) of the population in America probably lives within a 30 minutes delivery zone. Or, more accurately, most of the Americans who order things on Amazon do anyway. Crusty hermits with landlines only who have to drive 50 miles to use the computer at the local library notwithstanding.

[Tallpine]

The page says 30 minutes, not sure why you keep saying 10.

And yeah, taking into account population center density, number of Amazon distro centers, and "as the crow flies" / no traffic travel times, most (ie %51) of the population in America probably lives within a 30 minutes delivery zone. Or, more accurately, most of the Americans who order things on Amazon do anyway. Crusty hermits with landlines only who have to drive 50 miles to use the computer at the local library notwithstanding.

Ten minutes is what the Fox news article said.

Don't they need an FAA permit for something like this 

Maybe DHS/NSA will help fund it if they can piggyback a camera also ...

[Balog]

Ten minutes is what the Fox news article said.

Don't they need an FAA permit for something like this 

Maybe DHS/NSA will help fund it if they can piggyback a camera also ...

You should really read the actual Amazon page linked in the first post. They are working with the FAA to figure out how to deal with this.

[AZRedhawk44]

You should really read the actual Amazon page linked in the first post. They are working with the FAA to figure out how to deal with this.

Following the sourced article on a Montana-hermit-association-compliant 2600 baud modem takes a loooooong time.    

[Ben]

FAA Certificates of Authorization (COAs) are required for all UAS ops in National Airspace. As mentioned, Amazon is working on one with the FAA. It's still a fairly new and dynamic process. Even Fed to Fed they take a while.

[Waitone]

Amazon got several million dollars in free image advertising with the announcement just in time for cyber Monday.  Let's face it,Beezos is good. 

Once again I perceive us debating the question of "Can We?" and ignoring the question of "Should We?"  I am not that enthusiastic about flying weedeaters buzzing around.  Our legal system may well provided the answer to whether or not the concept is viable.  I can envision the mother of all class action lawsuits when Fido jumps a drone or when Toddles wanders out to play with it.  Never mind the inevitable failure of mechanical systems. A lot of work remains to be done before Beezos vision is implemented.  Meanwhile he benefits from the multi-million dollar kiss courtesy of 60 minutes.  Like I said, the guy is good.

[MillCreek]

In regards to the legal issues, we will see much the same cases crop up as we will with self-driving cars, as Google and others are working on.  The legal system will not be much of a barrier to the adoption of these cars, and it won't be for these drones.  The liabilities will be that much greater for the cars, given the much greater numbers of cars, and all that kinetic energy of mass times speed. 

[Balog]

Put delivery in sturdy weather tight disposable plastic bag. Lower bag on a cable from 15-20ft agl. Release when firmly on the ground.

[MechAg94]

Put delivery in sturdy weather tight disposable plastic bag. Lower bag on a cable from 15-20ft agl. Release when firmly on the ground.

I would bet 99% of packages would do just fine dropping from 20 feet.  That said, it all depends on how it is finally set up.  Maintaining minimal altitude would be safer all around.

The GPS direction finding would also not be adequate.  Google maps shows a spot just down the street when I put in my address.  They would need some way for the drone to confirm addresses at the point of delivery.  You wouldn't want to need a remote pilot for each delivery.

[Jamisjockey]

I would bet 99% of packages would do just fine dropping from 20 feet.  That said, it all depends on how it is finally set up.  Maintaining minimal altitude would be safer all around.

The GPS direction finding would also not be adequate.  Google maps shows a spot just down the street when I put in my address.  They would need some way for the drone to confirm addresses at the point of delivery.  You wouldn't want to need a remote pilot for each delivery.

RFID seems likely.  You want drone insta delivery (TM)? You get the RFID home tag so that they bring it to your doorstep.

[charby]

I think it would be a pretty cool pizza delivery method, just imagine getting buzzed on suds in the garage with the boys and suddenly you get hungry and 15-20 minutes later the pizza arrives via the drone. Don't need to tip the driver anymore.

[Perd Hapley]

I think it would be a pretty cool pizza delivery method, just imagine getting buzzed on suds in the garage with the boys and suddenly you get hungry and 15-20 minutes later the pizza arrives via the drone. Don't need to tip the driver anymore.

I wondered about that. How big a drone would it take to hoist a few pies? And are they going to cool off too fast up there?

[AZRedhawk44]

I wondered about that. How big a drone would it take to hoist a few pies? And are they going to cool off too fast up there?

They would have to be held in an insulated chamber.  Which then means they must be delivered/deployed in a way that prevents destruction of the toppings.  Seems to me the drone MUST land, and a conveyor must deposit the pie out of the insulator and onto the driveway or sidewalk.

[MillCreek]