Only one item can be delivered at a time. It can’t weigh more than 5 pounds. It can’t be too big. It can’t be something breakable, since the drone drops it from 12 feet. The drones can’t fly when it is too hot or too windy or too rainy.

You need to be home to put out the landing target and to make sure that a porch pirate doesn’t make off with your item or that it doesn’t roll into the street (which happened once to Lord and Silverman). But your car can’t be in the driveway. Letting the drone land in the backyard would avoid some of these problems, but not if there are trees.

Amazon has also warned customers that drone delivery is unavailable during periods of high demand for drone delivery.

  • helenslunch@feddit.nl
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    1 year ago

    Delivery trucks require a human to drive. And despite the insistence otherwise, we are a long long way from any sort of automated driving system. They also operate on a 2-dimensional plane and have to navigate around a variety of structures.

    Conversely, aerial automation is significantly easier since it is 3-dimensional and there are not obstacles to navigate. This also means it’s much easier to automate.

    Companies like Zipline have been operating these services for many years now with great success.

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldOP
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      1 year ago

      Delivery trucks require a human to drive.

      Ok… and? How is that a problem that needs solving?

          • helenslunch@feddit.nl
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            1 year ago

            Define “just fine”? Needless deaths and property damage are caused by human drivers all the time. I mean we could deliver things “just fine” on foot but everyone would be waiting a lot longer…

            • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldOP
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              1 year ago

              All the time? I’d like to see the statistics on deaths caused by delivery drivers.

              And I’m not sure why you think similar things wouldn’t happen with drones.

              • hamms@lemmy.world
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                1 year ago

                According to The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:

                A total of 4,714 people died in large truck crashes in 2021, a 17 percent increase compared with 2020. Sixteen percent of these deaths were truck occupants, 68 percent were occupants of cars and other passenger vehicles, and 15 percent were pedestrians, bicyclists or motorcyclists.

                  • QuaternionsRock@lemmy.world
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                    1 year ago

                    You asked for a statistic on deaths caused by delivery drivers because you know it probably doesn’t exist. Your mind is clearly already made up, so why even bother posting?

              • helenslunch@feddit.nl
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                1 year ago

                …why would they? Even in the rare occurrence that it were to fall out of the sky there’s very little chance it would hit anyone. And even in the exceptionally rare occurrence that it were to hit someone, they’re incredibly light and unlikely to cause serious damage, much less kill anyone.

                • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldOP
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                  1 year ago

                  Even in the rare occurrence that it were to fall out of the sky there’s very little chance it would hit anyone.

                  …unless it’s in a city.

                  And even in the exceptionally rare occurrence that it were to hit someone, they’re incredibly light and unlikely to cause serious damage, much less kill anyone.

                  …unless it’s a large drone carrying a heavy package.

                  If we’re going to replace delivery drivers with drones, they have to be able to carry more than a single five-pound item.

                  • helenslunch@feddit.nl
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                    1 year ago

                    …unless it’s in a city.

                    Even harder in a city since it would have to nosedive between buildings.

                    …unless it’s a large drone carrying a heavy package.

                    One of many reasons they have weight limits.

                    If we’re going to replace delivery drivers with drones, they have to be able to carry more than a single five-pound item.

                    They’ll likely never replace them entirely.