In S1E4 we interviewed Chris Anderson, who is something of an expert on drones and asked him for his thoughts on Amazon PrimeAir. I am curious to see what other folks think about it.
It looks like this:
Speaking personally, I love the idea of being able to order something and get it within 30 minutes, and the notion of an unmanned vehicle doesn’t worry me, so long as the FAA (or equivilent) implement suitable safety precautions. I don’t worry about the social implications for such vehicles.
I very hope they are real and they roll them out soon. I have already sketched out a parts list for an electromagnetic pulse gun and begun calculating how big a net I will need…
I honestly, properly, thought that this was some sort of April Fool’s joke. I am totally unconvinced that it is, or will be, real. It’s a publicity stunt. I’ll beiieve it when I see it, and not even then. Especially since I’m entirely sure that if it does exist then it’ll exist for Yanks and not for anyone else, like the idea of hospitals letting you die on the doorstep.
I love the idea of getting my Jetsons drone powered future where tiny robots do my bidding. It’ll be interesting to see what a drone army like this could be applied to. There’s apparently one company already licensed to do this sort of thing but for engineering work in inhospitable climates. What Amazon propose is on a very different scale …
Aside from the fact that Sil is right about it being a PR Stunt. I think it’s downright crappy of Amazon to be saying they’ll automate delivery when the conditions for humans working in their where-houses are so bloody awful (see Panorama on BBC last week. In short, Pet Hamsters with an exercise wheel have a better life). They should look at getting that side of their business properly automated before blowing money on this crap.
Indeed. As Chris Anderson notes in the interview, having drones fly around houses is a very different proposition indeed to having them fly over a field in the middle of nowhere!
I don’t think this is a stunt. I think Bezos is doing what he should be doing…identifying weaknesses in his business…and a major threat is that brick-and-mortar stores are offering Internet price matching. This means that people can want something and get it same day, which Amazon can’t compete with.
This is not a solvable problem with UPS in a timely manner, hence I think they sat around a giant board-room table and Bezos said…drones! Now they are demonstrating the technology to get people thinking about the concept to get them comfortable for when it eventually gets approved by the FAA.
I think the conversations we are having right now is exactly what Amazon wants…we are lowering outselves into the water.
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