I don't see any implementatin details in that patent, only a very rough sketch of how such a system could work (but many important details missing!) It could be me though.
Yeah, I am wondering about the limits of range, package weight, recharging operations and more for this kind of use. There are probably many headaches involved in implementing such projects.
Range could be handled by having recharging stations spread out through a city (a drone could also swap batteries). However, the challenge is to keep the solution as low-cost as possible, because drones will be lost to weather, crashes, etc.
If this means I can have something delivered in 45 minutes, or maybe 20 minutes!, they can charge a premium for that. Otherwise I wait for the big truck to bring it by within 2 days and it's free.
Right now there is no solution at any cost, in my market, by which I can order almost any product from Amazon and have it within a few hours.
Amazon already does same-day delivery in more areas than you're likely to see drone-delivery in the next 5-10 years.
In most places, the fancy technology has zero advantage over employing a handful of couriers. Exceptions would include extreme geography or traffic conditions.
I don't understand why or how a rough sketch of a system is patentable in the first place. The air traffic control system isn't patented, our system of roads and highways aren't patented, bike paths, trails, and so on are not patented. Patenting a system of automated "see and avoid" for autonomous flight is a maybe, but ultimately all such aircraft have to fit into a standardized system that cannot depend on any one patent. One company can't "own" the drone air traffic control system.
First sentence: "According to the patent, the drones will be able to track the location of the person it is delivering to by pulling data from their smartphone."
Further down: "Using Audi's...communications system...DHL delivery drivers would track a customer's vehicle over a specified period of time and then use a digital access code to unlock the boot. This code would then expire as soon as the boot was shut."
...well this is all a little more unsettling than having your mailman or a FedEx driver drop by your house
If the issue is someone knowing your whereabouts during the day, hopefully you consider it pretty unsettling that everyone who knows your address can be reasonably certain where you are between 6 PM and 7 AM.
That being said, I can see being uncomfortable with them having access to your trunk.
The reason these companies deliver to an address is because historically, that is the most convenient way for them to get your package to you.
Now it would be more convenient for you (and less so for them, given the amount of effort that goes into route planning) to deliver to wherever you are.
A truck would hardly 'chase you around', but might follow you until you've parked, and give the package to you then.
I'd say the service places an unreasonable expectation on the shipping company, rather than on the consumer.
It's not unsettling to know where a person might be in the middle of the night.
It's unsettling to know with absolute precise certainty where a person is at all times of the day. It's even more unsettling to know that a retailer knows where their customers are at all times of the day.
This is Apple/Google's fault. It really wouldn't be hard to add a section to settings that very clearly defines which apps have which permissions, and make it easy to turn off permissions for specific apps. Google tried something like this, but backtracked quickly. Instead, they need to double down and kick out any apps that crash if they don't have permissions enabled for specific functions.
There's so many hurdles to overcome with this, regulatory is likely the lesser of their worries. Drones now are (To my knowledge) using open spectrum radio waves without encryption, just generic hobby level stuff. Making them exceedingly easy to hijack. As we've already seen this with the parrot drones.
I can see them trying to go with something like 2, maybe 3g cellular for communications. That would be really good for distance, but not if they can't exceed the pilots view.
Then we have to consider the concept of having physical pilots. I find it difficult to believe that paying people to fly drones would be any more efficient short range for small parcels. They could maybe push the 1 day delivery to 1 hour delivery for common items, if you live within 500ft of the Amazon warehouse with a clear view of your house.
Don't get me wrong, drones are really freaking cool, and I totally want them showing up in 10min from purchase with emergency condoms. However, it's going to be a logistical nightmare, at least for the first little while until they can be fully automated with programmed routes and little human interaction.
Given that you can patent without implementing, and unimplemented patents can leave you open to lawsuits, organizations are forced to patent everything they they may want to do someday.
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[ 3.0 ms ] story [ 45.4 ms ] threadNone of this is addressed though.
If this means I can have something delivered in 45 minutes, or maybe 20 minutes!, they can charge a premium for that. Otherwise I wait for the big truck to bring it by within 2 days and it's free. Right now there is no solution at any cost, in my market, by which I can order almost any product from Amazon and have it within a few hours.
In most places, the fancy technology has zero advantage over employing a handful of couriers. Exceptions would include extreme geography or traffic conditions.
For instance, shipping medications in baggies (pouches), where the script label is printed directly on the baggie.
Boxes within boxes, plus all the packing material, drives me nuts.
Further down: "Using Audi's...communications system...DHL delivery drivers would track a customer's vehicle over a specified period of time and then use a digital access code to unlock the boot. This code would then expire as soon as the boot was shut."
...well this is all a little more unsettling than having your mailman or a FedEx driver drop by your house
That being said, I can see being uncomfortable with them having access to your trunk.
But when driving around on 5th avenue, seeing a DHL truck chasing you around? That's just not a reasonable expectation.
The reason these companies deliver to an address is because historically, that is the most convenient way for them to get your package to you.
Now it would be more convenient for you (and less so for them, given the amount of effort that goes into route planning) to deliver to wherever you are.
A truck would hardly 'chase you around', but might follow you until you've parked, and give the package to you then.
I'd say the service places an unreasonable expectation on the shipping company, rather than on the consumer.
It's unsettling to know with absolute precise certainty where a person is at all times of the day. It's even more unsettling to know that a retailer knows where their customers are at all times of the day.
This is Apple/Google's fault. It really wouldn't be hard to add a section to settings that very clearly defines which apps have which permissions, and make it easy to turn off permissions for specific apps. Google tried something like this, but backtracked quickly. Instead, they need to double down and kick out any apps that crash if they don't have permissions enabled for specific functions.
I can see them trying to go with something like 2, maybe 3g cellular for communications. That would be really good for distance, but not if they can't exceed the pilots view.
Then we have to consider the concept of having physical pilots. I find it difficult to believe that paying people to fly drones would be any more efficient short range for small parcels. They could maybe push the 1 day delivery to 1 hour delivery for common items, if you live within 500ft of the Amazon warehouse with a clear view of your house.
Don't get me wrong, drones are really freaking cool, and I totally want them showing up in 10min from purchase with emergency condoms. However, it's going to be a logistical nightmare, at least for the first little while until they can be fully automated with programmed routes and little human interaction.
Given that you can patent without implementing, and unimplemented patents can leave you open to lawsuits, organizations are forced to patent everything they they may want to do someday.