What privacy? You were in your front yard! In your driveway! I could legally walk by with a camera, take a picture of you, and you could legally do nothing about it. In your backyard may be a different case. https://legalbeagle.com/8608636-laws-being-photographed-permission.html And with proper authorization, someone could fly a drone near an airport: https://www.faa.gov/uas/getting_started/where_can_i_fly/airspace_restrictions/flying_near_airports "For flight near airports in controlled airspace, drone operators must receive an airspace authorization prior to operation. Airspace authorizations come with altitude limitations and may include other operational provisions. Controlled airspace and other flying restrictions can be found on our B4UFLY app." You couldn't tell whether the drone operator got the authorization or not.
I don't understand why you think them taking reasonable precautions is a bad thing. You'd have a reasonable cause for complaint if they just let them fly without someone keeping an eye on them at the start of the project.
I find it a sign of a bad position when you have to make claims that other people said something that they never said. Have you stopped beating your wife and murdering kittens yet? What I actually said is that it’s nothing more than a publicity stunt to use a drone to deliver to a location that someone had to drive to anyway.
I have been to Lockeford, and there is nothing there worth the concern of being hit by dropped objects.
Sending a driver to watch, then sending a drone to deliver to the same place the driver is, when you could have just sent the package with the driver in the first place. The proof is you've got to be a moron to think that's a good idea unless it's to get publicity. And, while some gullible people might be that dumb, Amazon isn't.
Another thought... If the drone uses GPS to find the delivery address... I have tried 7 different GPS units and they all miss my home address by a 1/2 mile.
So if I have a return, I just throw it out in the back yard and they pick it up right? I like it.... At least until the scammers get their drone fleet to follow the Amazon drones around and pickup the packages.
Can we stop with the name calling? "gullible", "moron", and "dumb" weaken your point. I guess I'm a dumb moron because I think it's a good idea to have a somewhat autonomous robot under observation during the first "real world" trials. Look at this thread. People joke about shooting down the drone (post 5, 7, 10), or take the drone as if it were a golf ball that landed in their yard (posts 28 and 30). Someone pointed out wires the drone could hit (post 9). An observer will look for these sorts of things and more, such as where the drone actually goes (see post 50). Let's note your comment below: Yet Amazon never said it was a publicity stunt. What they said was this (from your post): "safety officers (SO) deploy at the takeoff and delivery sites to observe the UA and scan for hazards on the ground" Somehow, you went from that statement to "it's a publicity stunt", making a claim that Amazon is doing something they never said.
Hmmm…. I see it as useful. Truck goes to a neighborhood, fleet of drones deliver to the nooks and crannies, following the same road markings as smart car drivers assist uses, over roadways that are constantly monitored. Drops package on designated zone, allocated by user who gets a delivery discount, all others pay full fare. Not much different than allowing a car or person into your driveway or on your property who drops off a package. Most people allocate a spot for a high school kid to chuck a newspaper, or did at one time.
Walmart is doing drone deliveries right now. The one near my house has a site in the parking where Drone-Up is flying packages up to 10lbs. https://www.businesswire.com/news/h...Delivery-Takes-Flight-in-Florida-with-DroneUp https://corporate.walmart.com/newsr...on-u-s-households-in-partnership-with-droneup
Given that all of the Iowa class battle ships have been decommissioned, why not convert some of those 16 inchers into delivery guns? 16 inch diameter, up to a couple thousand pounds and about 30 miles of range. Plus, since these are not UAVs, there would be no issue with FAA regs. And, good luck shooting one down!
From what I understand that part of the program is not permanent but rather a way for them to monitor the program until any unforeseen complications of this new operation are worked out. What company would seriously begin a program such as this with no one minding the store?
Maybe Amazon can learn something from these guys https://arsof-history.org/articles/v4n2_wings_over_burma_page_1.html They used to free-drop stuff from the C-47s https://arsof-history.org/articles/images/v4n2_wings_over_burma/400/8_free_drop.jpg
You're probably right, but I wouldn't discount the ingenuity of our troops then or now! They also had stronger beer cans back then, too. Back then, crushing a beer can on your forehead was a lot more impressive than using a modern can. https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0293/2726/1834/products/IMG_6805_110x110@2x.jpg?v=1669038392
[Beep] "Hello, we've been trying to reach you about your drones dropping $417 on your head insurance..."
Good point. Maybe some variation of the same technology of how my Neato Robot vacuums always find their way back to their charging station within a 1/2" error. Delivery zones will have been previously mapped and then something similar to 3D Lidar technology to find your house based on that missing shingle from your roof.
Forget it. If I learned anything from cartoons, it's that when that ACME brand anvil got dropped from the drone it would fall until it was approximately 7 feet off the ground, then stop, hanging impossibly in midair. I'd walk over to it and try to yank it down, but it wouldn't budge. I'd hang from it trying to get it drop to no avail. I'd climb on top of it and jump up and down without it yielding a single inch. Then... I'd get down, walk underneath the anvil and look up to try and figure out what was going on, and that's then it would promptly continue its fall onto my head squishing me into a human concertina whereby I'd play musical notes with every step I took. No thank you.
Read the Burma story, knew an Army Air Corps radioman on a C 47, later a C 46, for that service. He worked where I did. About 2 years on the Hump. Also an Army weather reporter/radio operator/repairman, on the ground in Burma. One of the first in, and one of the last out. He also worked with me. He was deep in China, at an airfield, the planes landed to unload. Monsoon season, they could not land, did airdrops. Both of these men were about 10 years older than I, and were young when in service. There is nothing exaggerated in that story. A less dangerous modern sequel, 1958, in Italy, the 124th Signal Company tried helicoptering a line of sight radio relay team onto a steep ridge, devoid of roads, for a field problem. It worked perfectly, until it did not. Strong winds and turbulence made operating a helicopter near the ridge impossible. As they ran out of food, water and fuel for the generator, an air drop from an L 19 was made. Parachutes were very expensive, so only fuel and water cans were parachuted in. Cases of C rations exploded on contact with the rocky ridge, and recovery of useful items was reported to be 30%. Some of the rations were as much as 100 yards down the ridge. Winds dropped a week after the end of the field problem, and the Air Force helicopter flew them out. The L 19 made a lot of runs, as they could not push out much at a time. With strong down drafts on the lee side of the ridge, down wind drops were required, so wind speed added to airspeed, and impact velocity of the free falling food was over 100 MPH.
Drone delivery is being tested here in the Phoenix area. Residents are not happy with the noise. https://www.dropbox.com/s/88vnl0yx8...drone_delivery_testing-vph7e2dzr2ba1.MP4?dl=0 And the poster said it sounded much louder in person than it does in the video.
Noise pollution! I often get multiple packages a day and putting up with that nonsense would possibly make me lose my beautiful disposition ...
"the noise MK27-2 makes would be unlikely to cause disturbance and is "not expected to affect wildlife behavior..."" I'm not sure what's louder, that drone or a Tu-95
Imagine this as you will.... There is a fifth dimension, beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. As you sit in the yard waiting for your delivery, this comes at you with your package....
I'm waiting for the next one this guy has in mind. From the article: "Dutch inventor Bart Jansen announced that he was working on a new project. Now this man intends to create a cow drone." https://www.dronetechplanet.com/cat-drone-the-drone-that-shook-the-world/
