3 ms·
I wonder if the winch is to prevent people nicking the drone.
by cs02rm0 8y ago
I wonder if the winch is to prevent people nicking the drone.
- Cthulhu_ 8y agoWhy would they? How often are delivery trucks stolen, for example?
- penagwin 8y agoDelivery trucks are hard to transport and store once they're reported stolen. It'd be more sensible to just steal the packages on the truck. The drone is "small", can be transported and stored without it being visible, so it get's lots of points there. Also I'd be concerned about stupid people/assholes and the shiny new drone. That said, Cameras+GPS, not to mention you don't want to steal the drone if it's delivering to you because it'd be kinda obvious.
- speeq 8y agohttps://www.engadget.com/2018/11/16/scoot-add-locks-scooters-combat-theft-vandalism/ https://www.engadget.com/2018/11/16/scoot-add-locks-scooters...
- michaelmior 8y agoDelivery trucks (currently) have drivers which does complicate theft.
- penagwin 8y agoYou know, I thought of a bunch of reasons why drones would be more likely to be stolen, but it never occurred to me that delivery trucks are accompanied by people.
- svantana 8y agoA better example could be electric scooters, which are indeed stolen sometimes, but apparently not enough to kill the various operator businesses (lime etc).
- oska 8y agoA better example might be shopping trolleys.
- phpnode 8y agoIt's to keep the drone as far away from landing hazards as possible - you don't want someone accidentally losing a finger to a rotor or the drone crashing through someone's window or landing in a location it's likely to get stuck.
- penagwin 8y agoYup it's a pretty good idea too. Pets, odd structures, children, terrain type, puddles, water run off areas. Not to mention you need to account for the wind. Drones can actually fly really well in wind, and while obviously they won't be flying in strong winds, you never know if there'll be a gust. In rural/suburban/residential districts the airspace is pretty darn clear above the treeline/buildings. Assuming you aren't next to a large airport, there is little to no air traffic, there's more wind but there's plenty of room, etc. I couldn't tell from the video, but I'd assume they drop the entire string to prevent it from being snagged.
- waltbosz 8y agoI saw the winch in the video and thought "what if someone grabbed the rope and used it to pull the drone to the ground", but then I saw the comment speculating that the drone could jettison the winch. I predict that when drone delivery services are commonplace, there will be a community of drone hunting enthusiasts.
- tlrobinson 8y ago> there will be a community of drone hunting enthusiasts. Probably not, at least in the US it's a federal crime: https://www.justice.gov/jm/criminal-resource-manual-2-aircraft-sabotage-18-usc-32 https://www.justice.gov/jm/criminal-resource-manual-2-aircra...