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UPS Develops 'Rolling Warehouse' System In Which Drones Are Launched From Atop Trucks (bloomberg.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the residential-delivery-service dept.

mi writes: A Bloomberg article describes a test conducted by UPS on Monday, "launching an unmanned aerial vehicle from the roof of a UPS truck about a quarter-mile to a blueberry farm outside Tampa, Florida. The drone dropped off a package at a home on the property, and returned to the truck, which had moved about 2,000 feet." The company is looking to design a "rolling warehouse" system in which a drone is "deployed from the roof of a UPS truck and flies at an altitude of 200 feet to the destination." It returns after dropping off the package while the truck is already on its way to the next stop.

41 comments

  1. Prior Art on Slashdot by mi · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The company is looking to design a "rolling warehouse" system in which a drone is "deployed from the roof of a UPS truck and flies at an altitude of 200 feet to the destination." It returns after dropping off the package while the truck is already on its way to the next stop.

    We discussed just such a system here on Slashdot about 4 years ago... If anything, that discussion should allow other players to implement their own without fear of stepping on UPS' patent(s).

    --
    In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
    1. Re:Prior Art on Slashdot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sounds like they owe you some money

    2. Re:Prior Art on Slashdot by mi · · Score: 1

      Sounds like they owe you some money

      I'll settle for a lifetime of free shipping.

      --
      In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
    3. Re:Prior Art on Slashdot by cyberchondriac · · Score: 1

      Bleh.. UPS? I'll take Fedex any day over UPS (at least, in my neighborhood).

      --

      Look back up at my post, now look back down, you're on the Internet. Now look back up. I'm a signature.
    4. Re:Prior Art on Slashdot by Agripa · · Score: 1

      We discussed just such a system here on Slashdot about 4 years ago... If anything, that discussion should allow other players to implement their own without fear of stepping on UPS' patent(s).

      The patent office has a very limited pool of what it considers prior art and Slashdot is not on it.

    5. Re:Prior Art on Slashdot by mi · · Score: 1

      What about the part being "obvious to anyone skilled in the art"?

      --
      In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
  2. UPS on the "Highway to the Danger Zone" by jfdavis668 · · Score: 1

    UPS trucks flying down the highway launching drones while playing the theme song to "Top Gun." Soon they will have arresting wires on top for landings at highway speed.

    1. Re:UPS on the "Highway to the Danger Zone" by Aighearach · · Score: 1

      Or at least a pop-up butterfly net.

    2. Re:UPS on the "Highway to the Danger Zone" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      For legal reasons, the trucks are always moving.

  3. Great! by Narcocide · · Score: 1

    Now if they can just invent a delivery driver that doesn't steal your shit.

    1. Re:Great! by turp182 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      My problem is not the driver's stealing stuff, but other people in my urban neighborhood.

      If a drone could drop a package my in my fenced back yard that would be fan-freaking-tastic. Of course it would have to navigate over my 3 story row house with two massive trees in the yard, that's not happening anytime soon...

      --
      BlameBillCosby.com
    2. Re:Great! by amiga3D · · Score: 1

      Have a landing pad on the roof for it. I had a computer stolen by a driver a few years ago. I contacted the company and they didn't seem worried about it. I sent it to my sister and she heard the truck roll up. By the time she got to the door the truck was rolling away and the box was on the porch, empty. I told the woman at the UPS this and she said things got taken in transit a lot of times it might not have been the driver but she seemed stumped when I asked her why he put an open, empty, box on the porch.

    3. Re:Great! by turp182 · · Score: 1

      That would actually work for the drone, but for me, it's a very dangerous ladder climb from a partial 2nd floor roof to the third floor roof.

      Improving this access would certainly be worth it though.

      Great idea, GPS is accurate enough I believe (landing spot could be 20 wide by 40 in length, in feet).

      --
      BlameBillCosby.com
    4. Re:Great! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah I don't see this working. If I can't flag the guy down, they always give my package to the Neighbor whom is reluctant to give it back.

  4. Self-driving truck required by tomhath · · Score: 2

    The driver will be in back loading, launching, and recovering drones as the truck drives itself. Until he's replaced by a robot.

  5. Reliability by pete6677 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If UPS drones operate anything like their human drivers, they'll just drop packages in random locations, mark them "delivered", and nobody ever sees them again.

  6. instead of Porch Pirates by turkeydance · · Score: 1

    we'll have Drone Destroyers

    1. Re:instead of Porch Pirates by DidgetMaster · · Score: 1

      Why destroy them when you can just hack into them and get them to deliver it to your door instead?

  7. Interesting. by BrookHarty · · Score: 2

    The UPS truck that serves my families rural location can't really make it up the hills in winter. UPS runs those tires almost bald in our area, crazy.
    UPS started delivering the packages to the local store, and the store is now the pick up place in our area.
    They could fly a drone from the store to the houses in the hills,

    Could see it. Remote location, we already use verizon for internet access, as satellite isn't taking new customers due to our area being over subscribed.
    We have wifi at the local community center from the shared tower that brings in sat tv and verizon to the small town.

    Rural communities are like this all over, very limited. Fedex/ups is used more than ever to bring things in.

  8. Bug report by PopeRatzo · · Score: 4, Informative

    This was buried at the very end of the story:

    During a second, unofficial demonstration of the HorseFly for UPS on Monday, some sort of interference – possibly from the broadcast reporters’ cameras - caused an issue with the drone’s compass. The drone aborted its launch, tried to land on top of the UPS truck, fell to the side and was nearly crushed by the still-closing lid of the vehicle.

    “We’ve never seen it before,” said Burns, of the glitch.

    --
    You are welcome on my lawn.
    1. Re:Bug report by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Clearly we need an emergency medical drone to fly after and capture these injured drones and guide them back home. Or else all drones (and whatever they're carrying) need to be fully self destructible when any issue occurs.

    2. Re:Bug report by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Honestly, that sounds like exactly the sort of thing that would happen for the first time ever the moment you invite people to watch.

    3. Re:Bug report by GrandCow · · Score: 2

      Morpheus fired the EMP.

      --
      "Well kids, you tried your best, and you failed. The lesson is, never try." -Homer Simpson
    4. Re:Bug report by trabby · · Score: 1

      Then we will need medical medical drones for when the medical drones break down.

  9. Energy Usage by Dripdry · · Score: 1

    I'm curious what the efficiency of energy usage on this vs standard truck is. The truck isn't idling as much, but the drones are flying and packages aren't getting to your door via foot power/SneakerNet.

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    1. Re:Energy Usage by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm curious what the efficiency of energy usage on this vs standard truck is. The truck isn't idling as much, but the drones are flying and packages aren't getting to your door via foot power/SneakerNet.

      Humans are inefficient compared to even fossil fuels, so the absolute energy requirements are lower for the drone than a human.
      The drones are also cheaper to insure/fix if damaged than a human, they're not paid wages nor do they pay taxes.
      So the easy parts of a human's day will be automated, leaving the dangerous and high effort/difficulty bits to humans for now.
      Robots don't pay taxes, and neither do the rich who can afford them.

  10. "Rolling warehouse"? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Since when are UPS trucks considered warehouses?

    1. Re:"Rolling warehouse"? by starblazer · · Score: 1

      have you seen how much crap you can shove in a P1200?

  11. USPS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'll support anything that reduces their handoff to USPS.

  12. I'm not sure who is going to like this better... by burhop · · Score: 3, Interesting

    ... the UPS driver than gets to try to drop boxes on my barking dog or my dog that might catch his first drone.

    Really, if they start doing this in my neighborhood, I'll be ordering a dog bone a day on Amazon.

  13. Idiocy by RubberDogBone · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Many cities and towns have had ZERO regard for the wiring nightmare hanging over their streets. Not to mention trees and other hazards. UPS is a bunch of damn fools if they think they can simply put drones on trucks and go for it.

    What do the drivers think? I read the UPS driver forums and they already had a lot of legitimate griefs and a lot of them felt overworked and pressured, so now they have to do drones, too? This is going to go over like a lead balloon in a gravity well.

    Besides which, there are drone no-fly zones all over the place. The town where I live is completely off limits as we are too close to a major airport. But that's OK because there are tons of badly groomed trees and some of the worst telecom pole wiring I have ever seen. Phone, CATV, power, fiber, and above those lines are 100ft high voltage lines with at least three tiers. Even if there wasn't a flight ban here, you'd have to be a complete moron to try to fly a drone among all these wires and the trees. Forget the kite-eating tree. It has nothing on the ones around here. They don't just eat drones, they also thrown limbs at you. Seriously. They eject limbs from time to time.

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    Sig for hire.
    1. Re:Idiocy by Aighearach · · Score: 1

      Wires might light up pretty easy on radar though.

    2. Re:Idiocy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What drivers? Once the trucks become self-driving, say bye-bye to the UPS man.

    3. Re:Idiocy by Agripa · · Score: 1

      Many cities and towns have had ZERO regard for the wiring nightmare hanging over their streets. Not to mention trees and other hazards. UPS is a bunch of damn fools if they think they can simply put drones on trucks and go for it.

      What do the drivers think? I read the UPS driver forums and they already had a lot of legitimate griefs and a lot of them felt overworked and pressured, so now they have to do drones, too? This is going to go over like a lead balloon in a gravity well.

      Besides which, there are drone no-fly zones all over the place. The town where I live is completely off limits as we are too close to a major airport. But that's OK because there are tons of badly groomed trees and some of the worst telecom pole wiring I have ever seen. Phone, CATV, power, fiber, and above those lines are 100ft high voltage lines with at least three tiers. Even if there wasn't a flight ban here, you'd have to be a complete moron to try to fly a drone among all these wires and the trees. Forget the kite-eating tree. It has nothing on the ones around here. They don't just eat drones, they also thrown limbs at you. Seriously. They eject limbs from time to time.

      So those cities and areas will not get UPS drone service; maybe UPS will charge a premium to deliver in these areas.

  14. Who ships packages without proof of delivey??? by citizenr · · Score: 1

    I dont know of a EU service even allowing shipping a package without proof of delivery. Reading all the horror stories about US postal service/private shipping Im just baffled. Why would you ship anything with a knowledge it will be tossed from a truck into your lawn/door for everyone to see???!?!

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    Who logs in to gdm? Not I, said the duck.
    1. Re:Who ships packages without proof of delivey??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How does that work? I'm rarely home when a package gets delivered. I live in an apartment building, so the delivery person rings the callbox (which goes to my cell phone) to be let in (or just rings the manager / whoever will let them in), but that's not really good security. Larger apartment buildings have offices, but for a smaller one or a house, they just leave the packages outside. At least with drones the packages could be dropped in a back yard / elsewhere out of sight of the street.

    2. Re:Who ships packages without proof of delivey??? by b0bby · · Score: 1

      The default for UPS in the US is that they require someone to sign; however, you can instruct them to not need a signature and they will just leave the package at your door. If something's really valuable I'll get it shipped to work, but in 20 years of having stuff left I haven't had a single problem. Sometimes the package will sit there over a weekend or longer.

  15. Flintstones by lazy+genes · · Score: 0

    Concept of using a pterodactyl to deliver packages. It would be more useful two genetically shrink humans and use carrier pigeons.