Quote:Cool idea but I see quite a few issues with this.

 

1. Any area at least 5-10 miles radius of a military base or power plant or commercial airport would almost certainly be "out of bounds"  

2. I would guess that thunderstorms or just lightning in the area would stop drone deliveries until the weather improved. Sleet, snow and hail would also be tough on drone delivery I think.

3.What about people shooting them down. That would be an easy thing to do and never underestimate a redneck and his gun.

4. I'm sure the drone delivery system can be hacked and then directed to any location the hacker desires.

5. If a drone crashes into a person, serious injury or death and serious lawsuits.

6. If a drone crashes into traffic, say through a windshield, more heavy lawsuits.

 

Those are just a few off the top of my head.

 

BTW : I heard somewhere that MIT has been using drones to guide people around their campus with some success.

1) Yes, that's entirely possible but most people probably live in acceptable delivery zones.

2) With delivery times of < 30 minutes weather shouldn't pose an issue beyond delays.

3) With a range of only 10 miles the vast majority of deliveries will be in urban environments which makes them harder to fire at than if they were flying over empty fields. This, combined with what I imagine would be extremely strict regulations regarding such things should limit the number of instances like the one you are describing.

4) Your Amazon account is hackable as is and they could edit the delivery address on there.

5) This is certainly a possibility, but arguments much like this could have been used against the introduction of motor vehicles that most people drive every day.

6) See #5.

 

It isn't flawless, but nothing truly is. I, personally, welcome the idea. This announcement is one of the few that give me the "living in the future" feeling. It's an exciting possibility.

---