Neil James Posted March 12, 2023 Share Posted March 12, 2023 Despite lots of hype, drone delivery schemes are finally bumping up against the restrictions of the real world: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/11/amazon-prime-air-drone-business-stymied-by-regulations-weak-demand.html?futusource=news_headline_list Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Carpenter Posted March 12, 2023 Share Posted March 12, 2023 Interesting ! 200 hours testing to overfly safely. Aeromodellings got over 100 year’s experience and we don’t overfly buildings etc !! Money talks !! Colin 6 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuban8 Posted March 12, 2023 Share Posted March 12, 2023 Drones have their uses beyond the toy and hobby world, of course they do, but the mass delivery of low value consumer items is not one of them. I find it astonishing that very clever people who are well paid are unable to see what is clearly self evident. How on earth can a proposed drone delivery service along the lines of Amazon Air possibly compete with the very successful scooter based delivery firms - cheap labour, low operating costs and not being affected by anything but the severest bad weather and all 7/24. You see them all the time on the roads now. As an Amazon prime user I've had 'free' same delivery and next day is fine for most other things. If I was desperate for a takeaway to be delivered there are plenty of instant delivery services to choose from and just a few taps away on my phone. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Stephenson Posted March 12, 2023 Share Posted March 12, 2023 I would hope that money talks less in the UK than it seems to in America. Let's hope the Campaign Against Aviation takes a dim view as their reputation suggests it might. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingman Posted March 12, 2023 Share Posted March 12, 2023 "Campaign Against Aviation"😁 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Kearsley Posted March 12, 2023 Share Posted March 12, 2023 1 hour ago, Andy Stephenson said: I would hope that money talks less in the UK than it seems to in America. Let's hope the Campaign Against Aviation takes a dim view as their reputation suggests it might. I just Googled "Campaign Against Aviation" and couldn't find any reference. Are you sure it actually exists? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul De Tourtoulon Posted March 12, 2023 Share Posted March 12, 2023 Where did you get " very clever people" from ?.🤐 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Fry Posted March 12, 2023 Share Posted March 12, 2023 I always thought that the hard bit for delivery services is the last mile. So, a motorised robot box, on wheels, top speed 6mph, with a dozen or so bins. Stops outside the house, and phones you your stuff is here, and supplies your bin code. Walk out, open your box, if hot food, heated box, take your stuff. Not saying practicable, but a league easier than a flying machine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Stephenson Posted March 12, 2023 Share Posted March 12, 2023 1 minute ago, Don Fry said: I always thought that the hard bit for delivery services is the last mile. So, a motorised robot box, on wheels, top speed 6mph, with a dozen or so bins. Stops outside the house, and phones you your stuff is here, and supplies your bin code. Walk out, open your box, if hot food, heated box, take your stuff. Not saying practicable, but a league easier than a flying machine. This has actually been trialled on at least one university campus in the US. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Lea Posted March 12, 2023 Share Posted March 12, 2023 Robots are already delivering on a regular basis in Milton Keynes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Gates Posted March 12, 2023 Share Posted March 12, 2023 Just like busses...... Wait for ages then 3 come along at the same time🤔 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kc Posted March 12, 2023 Share Posted March 12, 2023 Imagine roads clogged up with robots doing 6MPH - we would never get anywhere and not even get to the flying field. We would be better off with drones and restricted airspace! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Fry Posted March 12, 2023 Share Posted March 12, 2023 (edited) 1 hour ago, kc said: Imagine roads clogged up with robots doing 6MPH - we would never get anywhere and not even get to the flying field. We would be better off with drones and restricted airspace! Nah, cow catcher on the motor, don’t even need to come down to the speed limit. Any way they are clogged with couriers already. Edited March 12, 2023 by Don Fry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuban8 Posted March 12, 2023 Share Posted March 12, 2023 2 hours ago, Paul De Tourtoulon said: Where did you get " very clever people" from ?.🤐 Well, I suppose they must be bright to get other 'clever' people to take them seriously. 😤 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul De Tourtoulon Posted March 12, 2023 Share Posted March 12, 2023 " Clever" Not the same meaning when I was at school in the 60's,,,😅 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy J Posted March 12, 2023 Share Posted March 12, 2023 What I don't understand is why don't kids play with them. Sure a obstacle course or a free ride on toy would be one idea I would have tried if we had them 60 years ago. Perhaps kids today a more interested in playing in the virtual world rather than the real world. Climbing trees and making fires seem to have gone out of fashion now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff S Posted March 12, 2023 Share Posted March 12, 2023 14 minutes ago, Andy J said: What I don't understand is why don't kids play with them. Sure a obstacle course or a free ride on toy would be one idea I would have tried if we had them 60 years ago. Perhaps kids today a more interested in playing in the virtual world rather than the real world. Climbing trees and making fires seem to have gone out of fashion now. They're probably OK in a restricted environment like a campus but they'd be hopeless (say) in our village with up to 15% gradients and houses only accessible up 1 metre wide twitchels. We live on an unsurfaced, pot-holed restricted byway. I can't see that they'd last long in a real-life environment in the UK - our towns and villages aren't built on neat grid layouts; they just grew as required. I can just see kids erecting artificial barriers to see how they cope (probably not very well). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lima Hotel Foxtrot Posted March 12, 2023 Share Posted March 12, 2023 4 hours ago, Don Fry said: I always thought that the hard bit for delivery services is the last mile. So, a motorised robot box, on wheels, top speed 6mph, with a dozen or so bins. Stops outside the house, and phones you your stuff is here, and supplies your bin code. Walk out, open your box, if hot food, heated box, take your stuff. Not saying practicable, but a league easier than a flying machine. Already been happening in Northampton for a while, with success in delivering Co-op groceries in a certain local area store radius. The locals I know there think it's pretty handy. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-62180981 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Bran Posted March 12, 2023 Share Posted March 12, 2023 Road surfaces and pavements round here are so badly deteriorated and torn up they'd fall over and crash within seconds. Its as impractical in reality as the "local courier pick up points" are at "saving transport costs". Not when they notify you to collect and then when you arrive they either don't actually have it yet or have lost it, which continues for days (several times), or fail to provide the code to open the storage locker (twice, once involving a trip of 65 miles to collect having delayed its "guaranteed" collection date by four working days into not being at home) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Fry Posted March 12, 2023 Share Posted March 12, 2023 54 minutes ago, Dave Bran said: Road surfaces and pavements round here are so badly deteriorated and torn up they'd fall over and crash within seconds. Its as impractical in reality as the "local courier pick up points" are at "saving transport costs". Not when they notify you to collect and then when you arrive they either don't actually have it yet or have lost it, which continues for days (several times), or fail to provide the code to open the storage locker (twice, once involving a trip of 65 miles to collect having delayed its "guaranteed" collection date by four working days into not being at home) Wot you need is the 6 wheel drive version, 20 inch motocross tyre, and optional high voltage antiplay feature. I never said practicable, just better than a flying drone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul devereux Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 14 hours ago, Neil James said: Despite lots of hype, drone delivery schemes are finally bumping up against the restrictions of the real world: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/11/amazon-prime-air-drone-business-stymied-by-regulations-weak-demand.html?futusource=news_headline_list Royal Mail are expanding the number of routes, I think: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuban8 Posted March 14, 2023 Share Posted March 14, 2023 On 12/03/2023 at 17:44, Andy J said: What I don't understand is why don't kids play with them. Sure a obstacle course or a free ride on toy would be one idea I would have tried if we had them 60 years ago. Perhaps kids today a more interested in playing in the virtual world rather than the real world. Climbing trees and making fires seem to have gone out of fashion now. Apparently, games called Roblox and Minecraft are all the rage now. Ive seen my grandson playing them but I've no idea about what's going on or whether there is an object to be achieved. The YouTube tutorials he watches seem to be mostly a 'presenter' talking non stop maddening gibberish and shouting. It could be used as a form of torture. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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