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UPS Is Starting To Test Drone Deliveries In the US (qz.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Quartz: UPS announced Sept. 23 that it has begun testing drone deliveries in the U.S. with drone manufacturer CyPhy Works. The two companies yesterday completed a test of delivering medicine from the coastal town of Beverly, Massachusetts, to Children's Island, a small island about three miles into the Atlantic Ocean. CyPhy's drone has night-vision capabilities, according to a release shared with Quartz. The test yesterday involved a trial situation where an asthmatic child urgently needed an inhaler, which was dispatched from the mainland to the island, arriving far more quickly than it would've taken a boat to get there. CyPhy's drone autonomously flew supplies over the ocean to a group waiting to receive them on the other end, although there was no actual child with asthma in danger. In May, UPS had announced that it was partnering with the drone company Zipline to deliver medical supplies to rural Rwanda, having invested nearly $1 million into the company. UPS has also invested an undisclosed amount in CyPhy. UPS told Quartz that the FAA was aware of its test, and Houston Mills, a commercial pilot with UPS for over a decade and the company's director of airline safety, was recently announced as a member of the FAA's Drone Advisory Committee. The committee is working with industry experts and companies to figure out how to safely integrate a network of commercial drones into U.S. airspace. You can watch the heroic footage of the trial run here.
It does have its advantages in some situations, but it's also going to seriously pollute low-level airspace with drone traffic. I call it pollution, because it's like light pollution - definitely beneficial, but something is lost in the exchange.
"There are a dozen opinions on a matter until you know the truth. Then there is only one." - CS Lewis (paraprhase)
This will defiantly change the way aircraft are handled. Maybe there should be a "drone space" about 100 above the ground to 200 feet depending on the terrain. It could probably be more. I believe aircraft have to stay above 400 feet unless landing or taking off.
I wonder how long before we start seeing drones take the place of police in cars.
Supporting World Peace Through Nuclear Pacification
UPS is union so will they let this get far?
>> which was dispatched from the mainland to the island, arriving far more quickly than it would've taken a boat to get there.
Drones are slow. Just wait until I launch my parcel cannon service. I'm thinking of calling it TNT Express.
I wonder how long before we start seeing drones take the place of police in cars.
You mean like this, this, and this?
Indeed this is being seriously looked into. For instance NASA (my latest gig!) and the FAA.
Check out the Google an Amazon whitepapers here.
The toughest part has been programming the drone to both run over and then drop-kick the packages in the hedge.
There's a reason I likened drone pollution to light pollution - around population centers, there's now going to be this cloud of moderate density drone traffic. Doesn't affect "remote rural areas" where population density is low, you won't notice it in highly urban areas because they are already light and noise polluted beyond notice.
It's the type of thing that you probably won't notice unless you want to enjoy the scenery in some particular way that isn't really accounted for by the commercial drone users - just like light pollution makes it just a bit hard to stargaze.
"There are a dozen opinions on a matter until you know the truth. Then there is only one." - CS Lewis (paraprhase)