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What is this going to sound like when cities have hundreds of whining drones flying around? Are we just going to have to get used to the noise pollution from t

What is this going to sound like when cities have hundreds of whining drones flying around? Are we just going to have to get used to the noise pollution from the drones so people can get their coffee delivered faster?

H1Supreme 9y ago
Additionally, how will the drones be secured? A baseball could knock these things out of the air. It's not like with a delivery person where there's a lot of risk involved trying to take a package.
- tachyonbeam 9y ago
  A drone large enough to ship a package will probably not be taken down by a baseball. It's also going to be difficult to throw a baseball at a moving drone. You'd also have to know when the drone is going to come by, because most of the time, they would be flying high, except when near landing. Finally, security cameras.
  - Shivetya 9y ago
    well the concern I am curious about how they address it is, how will they route these drones? How high up do they need to be when crossing private property before they are not trespassing. If any have cameras attached how do we verify they only record where appropriate? if routing down existing roadways how do they fare in areas with large numbers of over head wires? my personal concerns from above are trespass and privacy. besides someone should easily be able to come up with a means to track them and nab some packages, with drones if there is enough money in it.
    - tachyonbeam 9y ago
      Most drones would likely be carrying low-value items. The risk would probably not be worth it. Each time you try to nab a drone, you are exposing yourself to the risk of being arrested and prosecuted. If security is a huge concern, keep shipping high-value items by people. Program the drones to fly in unpredictable patterns, etc.
      - jacquesm 9y ago
        > The risk would probably not be worth it. There are the parts the drone is made out of. A drone capable of lifting a package would be worth a pretty penny in parts.
  - jacquesm 9y ago
    A drone large enough to ship a package will kill you when it falls down for whatever reason. I don't see this whole concept working simply due to (re)liability.
xenihn 9y ago
I had one fly low near my top-floor unit recently and it was way louder than I ever expected it to be.
wpietri 9y ago
We seem pretty used to the noise of trucks, which are the loudest thing in my neighborhood.
simplyinfinity 9y ago
What is this going to sound like when cities have hundreds of whining cars driving around? Are we just going to have to get used to the noise pollution from the cars so people can get their coffee delivered faster? ------- This actually might lower the delivery times and delivery cars on the road which is a good thing! Less traffic, less air pollution, faster delivery times, less jobs (not a good thing tho).
- mikeash 9y ago
  It's true that we already deal with annoying vehicular noise, but that's hardly an argument in favor of repeating the same mistakes. I'm not convinced it would be anything like a net gain. I'm not a fan of car noise, but a delivery truck carrying hundreds of packages makes less noise than a drone too small to even carry one of them. Hopefully it's possible to make these things much quieter....
  - d0lph 9y ago
    True, but imagine if these drones handled food/grocery/retail delivery, the amount of cars on the road would drop immensely. As long as the tradeoff is 1 car -> 1 drone.
    - graeme 9y ago
      You’re assuming nothing else would fill the gap left. It’s not a static system.
    - mikeash 9y ago
      Trading off one car for one drone would result in a massive increase in noise. To be a win, you'd need each drone to replace hundreds or thousands of cars, and right now the equation is the other way around. Cars are getting quieter all the time, too. Tire noise already dominates for most vehicles at city speeds, and EVs improve the picture even further. Diesel trucks are often pretty noise, but they're mild compared to a drone, and electric trucks will drastically cut down on noise.
oh_sigh 9y ago
100 years ago, you would have said "What is this going to sound like when cities have hundreds of whining cars driving around? Are we just going to have to get used to the noise pollution from the cars so people can get their crackerboxes delivered faster?"
- icebraining 9y ago
  And they would have been right, which is why cities are now (finally) trying to curb that plague. I suggest a free-market approach: let these companies purchase the noise rights of each affected inhabitant. Then Coase can decide if having a crackerboxer two hours sooner is worth the cost.
  - oh_sigh 9y ago
    Cities aren't cracking down on cars because of noise, they are cracking down because they are a very poor use of limited space. I'm curious if you think people who are,say, proselytizing on the sidewalk should need to buy noise rights from people who can hear them as well?
njarboe 9y ago
Automatic pilot for a flying drone from A to B is much easier than one that moves on streets or sidewalks, but I hope we don't let these flying drones cover our cities with noise. If automatic cars work out, maybe a system of quiet, electric trucks that stop at your house/apartment and then a flying drone from truck to the front/back porch (or open widow? That would be cool for condos/apts) would not add much more noise to the urban environment.
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]

H1Supreme 9y ago

Additionally, how will the drones be secured? A baseball could knock these things out of the air. It's not like with a delivery person where there's a lot of risk involved trying to take a package.

tachyonbeam 9y ago
A drone large enough to ship a package will probably not be taken down by a baseball. It's also going to be difficult to throw a baseball at a moving drone. You'd also have to know when the drone is going to come by, because most of the time, they would be flying high, except when near landing. Finally, security cameras.
- Shivetya 9y ago
  well the concern I am curious about how they address it is, how will they route these drones? How high up do they need to be when crossing private property before they are not trespassing. If any have cameras attached how do we verify they only record where appropriate? if routing down existing roadways how do they fare in areas with large numbers of over head wires? my personal concerns from above are trespass and privacy. besides someone should easily be able to come up with a means to track them and nab some packages, with drones if there is enough money in it.
  - tachyonbeam 9y ago
    Most drones would likely be carrying low-value items. The risk would probably not be worth it. Each time you try to nab a drone, you are exposing yourself to the risk of being arrested and prosecuted. If security is a huge concern, keep shipping high-value items by people. Program the drones to fly in unpredictable patterns, etc.
    - jacquesm 9y ago
      > The risk would probably not be worth it. There are the parts the drone is made out of. A drone capable of lifting a package would be worth a pretty penny in parts.
- jacquesm 9y ago
  A drone large enough to ship a package will kill you when it falls down for whatever reason. I don't see this whole concept working simply due to (re)liability.

xenihn 9y ago

I had one fly low near my top-floor unit recently and it was way louder than I ever expected it to be.

wpietri 9y ago

We seem pretty used to the noise of trucks, which are the loudest thing in my neighborhood.

simplyinfinity 9y ago

What is this going to sound like when cities have hundreds of whining cars driving around? Are we just going to have to get used to the noise pollution from the cars so people can get their coffee delivered faster? ------- This actually might lower the delivery times and delivery cars on the road which is a good thing! Less traffic, less air pollution, faster delivery times, less jobs (not a good thing tho).

mikeash 9y ago
It's true that we already deal with annoying vehicular noise, but that's hardly an argument in favor of repeating the same mistakes. I'm not convinced it would be anything like a net gain. I'm not a fan of car noise, but a delivery truck carrying hundreds of packages makes less noise than a drone too small to even carry one of them. Hopefully it's possible to make these things much quieter....
- d0lph 9y ago
  True, but imagine if these drones handled food/grocery/retail delivery, the amount of cars on the road would drop immensely. As long as the tradeoff is 1 car -> 1 drone.
  - graeme 9y ago
    You’re assuming nothing else would fill the gap left. It’s not a static system.
  - mikeash 9y ago
    Trading off one car for one drone would result in a massive increase in noise. To be a win, you'd need each drone to replace hundreds or thousands of cars, and right now the equation is the other way around. Cars are getting quieter all the time, too. Tire noise already dominates for most vehicles at city speeds, and EVs improve the picture even further. Diesel trucks are often pretty noise, but they're mild compared to a drone, and electric trucks will drastically cut down on noise.

oh_sigh 9y ago

100 years ago, you would have said "What is this going to sound like when cities have hundreds of whining cars driving around? Are we just going to have to get used to the noise pollution from the cars so people can get their crackerboxes delivered faster?"

icebraining 9y ago
And they would have been right, which is why cities are now (finally) trying to curb that plague. I suggest a free-market approach: let these companies purchase the noise rights of each affected inhabitant. Then Coase can decide if having a crackerboxer two hours sooner is worth the cost.
- oh_sigh 9y ago
  Cities aren't cracking down on cars because of noise, they are cracking down because they are a very poor use of limited space. I'm curious if you think people who are,say, proselytizing on the sidewalk should need to buy noise rights from people who can hear them as well?

njarboe 9y ago

Automatic pilot for a flying drone from A to B is much easier than one that moves on streets or sidewalks, but I hope we don't let these flying drones cover our cities with noise. If automatic cars work out, maybe a system of quiet, electric trucks that stop at your house/apartment and then a flying drone from truck to the front/back porch (or open widow? That would be cool for condos/apts) would not add much more noise to the urban environment.

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]