topic Re: Drones to deliver ebay items too? in Community Spirit

Drones to deliver ebay items too?

fourandsixpants — Sat, 07 Dec 2013 23:00:02 GMT

http://metro.co.uk/2013/12/02/the-amazon-drones-are-coming-for-you-should-we-be-excited-about-the-future-of-e-commerce-delivery-4209619/

"...soon you might well have a targeted, unmanned drone landing right in your back garden and the incoming will have your name on it.

This won’t be the work of a foreign government or an antagonistic power. You won’t be cursing the enemy or cowering in the basement. You’ll know exactly what’s coming your way because you asked for it, quite literally.

This isn’t a nightmarish future of terrorism or government surveillance. Soon you’ll be able to order a direct strike on your own home from a drone and determine the payload too.

This is the future of e-commerce delivery and Amazon chief Jeff Bezos calls it Amazon Prime Air.."

According to an interview he gave on US TV show 60 Minutes on Sunday, Jeff Bezos hopes that his company Amazon will be able to bypass couriers and the postal service, by sending your orders directly using airborne delivery drones within 3-5 years.

If you’re close enough to one of the Amazon distribution centres (which are being developed quickly and extensively in areas of high population density in the US and UK), you might well have that vital purchase within 30 minutes.

Frankly, if he’s serious, this drone technology could be dropping Amazon purchases up to 10 pounds in weight into American gardens very soon indeed.

We’re encouraged to welcome every innovation and rejoice at every new development that means we can sate our consumer urges faster, better and more often. Increasingly nowadays an instant fix is required for the most mundane of events and this is just the next logical step.

It used to be quite normal to wait a day or two for an online purchase to arrive in the post. Now even eBay offers same-day delivery in London and some US cities with some retailers using the eBay Now service. Impatience is a virtue.

And now Amazon are investing in little helicopters that will drop your purchase by before you’ve even had enough time to log off and make a cuppa. Is this a good thing?

If this really, ahem, takes off, we could see the skies clogged with tiny little flying machines speeding deliveries to people all over our cities. Think of all those parcels the postie brings to your street for your neighbours and you, soon they could be coming by air in swarms of little Amazon branded lunchboxes. Even George Orwell didn’t imagine such a dystopia....."

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/12/02/tech/innovation/amazon-drones-questions/

What do you think guys and gals?

Re: Drones to deliver ebay items too?

serendipityricho — Sat, 07 Dec 2013 23:17:54 GMT

Wiil the drone -swoop down and put a card in the letterbox----no one

home- pick up parcel from the post office--and fly away.............................Richo.

Re: Drones to deliver ebay items too?

lurker17260 — Sat, 07 Dec 2013 23:23:06 GMT

Well I just had a courier deliver a parcel to my door (on Sunday morning! I'm impressed). I quite enjoyed the little chat we had while I was signing for it. Don't think a drone is going to do that for me.

Re: Drones to deliver ebay items too?

lurker17260 — Sat, 07 Dec 2013 23:31:30 GMT

(Just a little aside and a bouquet for Australia (and NZ) Post. I posted a box of Christmas presents to my mum last Monday and it was at her place in NZ on Thursday. And neither of us live in a major city or town. That's pretty good I reckon, especially at this time of year.)

Re: Drones to deliver ebay items too?

fourandsixpants — Sat, 07 Dec 2013 23:34:06 GMT

.....not sure richo......from the little I have read to date it seems that the emphasis is on delivering online purchases/items to buyers in the shortest possible time.....30 mins in cities and possibly within a couple of hours in outer city areas - as an alternative to existing Postal and Courier delivery services.

Guess a drone could be programmed to 'pick-up' an item from a predetermined location and then deliver the item/package to a central sort point to be then 're-droned' and delivered to its destination.......*wow

I just need them to invent a much larger drone....one that can carry something a bit heavier and can travel a bit further.....

.........there are a lot of places I would like to see and visit

Re: Drones to deliver ebay items too?

tasfleur — Sat, 07 Dec 2013 23:37:35 GMT

I think it's a bad idea! In a perfect world it just might work, but just imagine all these drones delivering to the wrong "gardens", dropping the parcels on the roof (right or wrong address), breaking down and crashing down on roads and cars (and heads) etc but the worst not so hypothetical of all, those drones in the hands of criminals who then, would have the perfect weapon.

But apart from all of that, it would give the birds a lot of competition....

Re: Drones to deliver ebay items too?

fourandsixpants — Sat, 07 Dec 2013 23:37:43 GMT

yes Lurker.....I love the quick verbals with my AP contractor too:) would miss this.

Imagine all the jobs that would go?

Re: Drones to deliver ebay items too?

fourandsixpants — Sat, 07 Dec 2013 23:43:40 GMT

ref tas "2 minutes ago

But apart from all of that, it would give the birds a lot of competition.... "

.................................................................................................................................................................................................................

LOL! ....just imagining a malfunction in the 'system' somewhere-like comms breaks down....for whatever reason and some poor seller (not a buyer-who would be delighted!!) suddenly starts receiving ALL the deliveries in his/her back yard from closest drone delivery service centre for a 20 minute period *LOL!!.....

Re: Drones to deliver ebay items too?

tasfleur — Sat, 07 Dec 2013 23:59:37 GMT

It boggles the mind doesn't it Paintsew ...

Re: Drones to deliver ebay items too?

fourandsixpants — Sun, 08 Dec 2013 00:12:29 GMT

http://www.businessinsider.com.au/drones-delivering-newspapers-2013-3

http://www.businessinsider.com.au/us-navy-just-launched-a-drone-from-a-submarine-2013-12

http://www.dezeen.com/2013/10/16/flying-drones-to-deliver-text-books/

16 October,2013

"World's First" drone delivery service launches in Australia"

"...a Sydney company has launched a book delivery service that employs flying robots instead of postmen, and declared that "commercial drones are going to become as ubiquitous as aeroplanes

Re: Drones to deliver ebay items too?

nevillesdaughter — Sun, 08 Dec 2013 01:21:27 GMT

@paintsew007 wrote:
http://metro.co.uk/2013/12/02/the-amazon-drones-are-coming-for-you-should-we-be-excited-about-the-future-of-e-commerce-delivery-4209619/

"...soon you might well have a targeted, unmanned drone landing right in your back garden and the incoming will have your name on it.
This won’t be the work of a foreign government or an antagonistic power. You won’t be cursing the enemy or cowering in the basement. You’ll know exactly what’s coming your way because you asked for it, quite literally.
This isn’t a nightmarish future of terrorism or government surveillance. Soon you’ll be able to order a direct strike on your own home from a drone and determine the payload too.
This is the future of e-commerce delivery and Amazon chief Jeff Bezos calls it Amazon Prime Air.."
According to an interview he gave on US TV show 60 Minutes on Sunday, Jeff Bezos hopes that his company Amazon will be able to bypass couriers and the postal service, by sending your orders directly using airborne delivery drones within 3-5 years.
If you’re close enough to one of the Amazon distribution centres (which are being developed quickly and extensively in areas of high population density in the US and UK), you might well have that vital purchase within 30 minutes.
Frankly, if he’s serious, this drone technology could be dropping Amazon purchases up to 10 pounds in weight into American gardens very soon indeed.
We’re encouraged to welcome every innovation and rejoice at every new development that means we can sate our consumer urges faster, better and more often. Increasingly nowadays an instant fix is required for the most mundane of events and this is just the next logical step.
It used to be quite normal to wait a day or two for an online purchase to arrive in the post. Now even eBay offers same-day delivery in London and some US cities with some retailers using the eBay Now service. Impatience is a virtue.
And now Amazon are investing in little helicopters that will drop your purchase by before you’ve even had enough time to log off and make a cuppa. Is this a good thing?
If this really, ahem, takes off, we could see the skies clogged with tiny little flying machines speeding deliveries to people all over our cities. Think of all those parcels the postie brings to your street for your neighbours and you, soon they could be coming by air in swarms of little Amazon branded lunchboxes. Even George Orwell didn’t imagine such a dystopia....."

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/12/02/tech/innovation/amazon-drones-questions/

What do you think guys and gals?

Could one of these gizmos handle a pizza and a nice bottle of a light red?

Marina.

Re: Drones to deliver ebay items too?

fourandsixpants — Sun, 08 Dec 2013 01:31:53 GMT

Re: Drones to deliver ebay items too?

nevillesdaughter — Sun, 08 Dec 2013 01:50:40 GMT

@paintsew007 wrote:

Don't think Dominos do the bottle of red.

Also just imagining the major meltdown the dog would have if a drone landed on the deck - as it is we have to restrain her when delivery persons arrive (she's a 12month old apricot moodle called "Lola") and seeing the way she carries on when I get out the vac (very rare), the idea of her attacking a drone amuses me greatly - what would they say back at base - "Drone down, drone down" maybe?

And, if a bird strike can bring down a jet, I figure the rainbow lorikeets and magpies that I feed on the deck (these also upset the dog) would surely cause havoc. I've seen one of those magpies pin the cat down (figuratively speaking) under the stairs, for hours.

I'm going to stop talking now because I realise I'm starting to sound like the crazy cat/dog/bird lady from down the road.......

Marina.

Re: Drones to deliver ebay items too?

fourandsixpants — Sun, 08 Dec 2013 01:54:49 GMT

Re: Drones to deliver ebay items too?

nevillesdaughter — Sun, 08 Dec 2013 01:59:21 GMT

@paintsew007 wrote:

I don't mean to bang on about this, but WHERE'S THE FREAKIN' BOTTLE OF RED?

Marina.

Re: Drones to deliver ebay items too?

fourandsixpants — Sun, 08 Dec 2013 02:04:44 GMT

........got alcohol-can travel! .........

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/drone-on-novel-uses-for-amazons-drone-delivery/2013/12/02/7523d84e-5b69-11e3-801f-1f90bf692c9b_story.html.

— "Sitting at the ballpark and don’t want to pay $8.50 for a beer? No worries, as an Amazon Prime customer, the “Amazon Express Chopper” will bring you a cold six-pack of your favorite craft beer for just $7...."

....it'll have to be pizza and a beer for now LOL!

Re: Drones to deliver ebay items too?

nevillesdaughter — Sun, 08 Dec 2013 03:11:22 GMT

@paintsew007 wrote:
........got alcohol-can travel! .........
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/drone-on-novel-uses-for-amazons-drone-delivery/2013/12/02/7523d84e-5b69-11e3-801f-1f90bf692c9b_story.html.
— "Sitting at the ballpark and don’t want to pay $8.50 for a beer? No worries, as an Amazon Prime customer, the “Amazon Express Chopper” will bring you a cold six-pack of your favorite craft beer for just $7...."

....it'll have to be pizza and a beer for now LOL!

Adequate, but hardly ideal....

Marina,

Re: Drones to deliver ebay items too?

monman12 — Sun, 08 Dec 2013 03:44:34 GMT

"..soon you might" Sums up the suggestion

"Bezos' proposed flying machines won't need humans to control them remotely. Amazon's drones would receive a set of GPS coordinates and automatically fly to them, presumably avoiding buildings, power lines and other obstacles (people?)." (2.25Kg up to 13Km)

"Amazon’s plans outlined by Jeffrey P. Bezos were said to be “autonomous drones,” but he didn’t go into detail on their planned infrastructure or how humans would be involved in their flight". Big surprise.

"Amazon’s distribution centers are too far away from metropolitan areas to make these deliveries feasible. That is if one could develop any likely technology"

Right !, "autonomous drones,” what nonsense.The technological problems, legal implications, aviation regulatory hurdles are more than enough to indicate that this announcement was nothing more than a well planned and timed Xmas present for, in many cases, a technically ignorant media and their like audience, but never let facts interfere with a good story and "drones" are a good story anytime.

"While the timing of the 60 Minutes interview was certainly calculated to maximize exposure at this critical holiday buying time"

"The 60 Minutes segment is getting a lot of buzz, to be sure, and most analysts and writers believe that short-term buzz was Amazon’s primary objective." It worked !

nɥºɾ

Re: Drones to deliver ebay items too?

love*today — Sun, 08 Dec 2013 04:02:32 GMT

Great drones 😕 something governments can use to gather more intrusive info......and all the people clap and applaud and want them! Their marketing guys don't really have to work hard.....*biggest ever eye roll

Re: Drones to deliver ebay items too?

fourandsixpants — Sun, 08 Dec 2013 04:42:38 GMT

ref my main man monman:) :56 minutes ago

"..soon you might" Sums up the suggestion

"Amazon’s distribution centers are too far away from metropolitan areas to make these deliveries feasible. That is if one could develop any likely technology"

"While the timing of the 60 Minutes interview was certainly calculated to maximize exposure at this critical holiday buying time"

"The 60 Minutes segment is getting a lot of buzz, to be sure, and most analysts and writers believe that short-term buzz was Amazon’s primary objective." It worked !

nɥºɾ

a good effort by all though Lol!!