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Walmart Applies To Test Drone Use For Delivery and Inventory Checking (faa.gov)
An anonymous reader writes: Retailing giant Walmart has submitted an application to the Federal Aviation Administration requesting permission to run drone trials. The tests are to include not only home delivery — with the permission of residents within the 'flight path' — but also inventory-checking procedures at Walmart parking lots. It only costs $5 to make an application of this nature to the FAA, and until some hint of concrete legislation comes to light from the newly-formed UAS task force on November 20th, that's probably about as much as any company would want to spend on speculative drone-delivery research.
And/or medium-sized drones carrying Velveeta and beer!
"... inventory-checking procedures at Walmart parking lots ..." (drone follows you in parking lot and says [in robot voice]) Did you just buy that, please show your receipt, return to store now, last warning, 3, 2, 1 [pew! pew!]
Thankfully, delivery trucks have well defined regulated lanes of travel to keep them off private property.
Time is what keeps everything from happening all at once.
Nope, no way automation is going to eliminate any jobs, and even if it were (which it's not) we can just lower pay to compensate and prices will fall until the lower pay has equal buying power, right?
You're right. It's not like we've been automating jobs away for a century or more, yet now have far more people employed than were back then.