4 ms·

This is a neat concept - especially considering they are autonomous. However, I wonder about these risk scenarios: 1) Weather. Moving at 35 mph it seems that

This is a neat concept - especially considering they are autonomous. However, I wonder about these risk scenarios: 1) Weather. Moving at 35 mph it seems that a lot of long term planning is in order for something that could be severely impacted by weather. This sounds like a logistical nightmare during a week of active weather across the country. 2) Helium availability - there have been reports that the costs of helium have gone up considerably since there are only a very few producers of the gas and this seems like it would be a huge consumer of such gas. 3) Vandalism. Never underestimate the power of stupid people. It's well known in the railroad industry that trains and their cargo often take bullets from traveling cross country. In fact, the 737 fuselages that travel across country on trains for Boeing often have bullet holes in them that must be repaired. Add in a huge cargo blimp that is unmanned and the urge for vandalism will be significant for some nefarious actors.

Benclaman 5y ago
These are awesome questions! Here's a couple answers: 1) We're building our full size airship to fly at 60 mph, which increases the usability in inclement weather. 2) Joe answered this in another comment, but our airships use pretty small quantities of helium compared to the bigger ones, so it's not a major operational cost. 3) For sure this is an issue, but the bigger the blimp is, the more bullet holes you'd have to fill it with to prevent it from reaching its final destination. The german zeppelins of world war I were really hard to shoot down. See 5:47 of the below video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlQgprSGpNI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlQgprSGpNI
- ManBlanket 5y ago
  I just attended a 7 year old girl's birthday party who was gifted a bb gun by her domestic-swilling uncle. We confirmed the temptation to shoot balloons is real. That said it seems like the other points you mentioned are working in your favor. The chances of hitting a small moving aircraft at a relatively high altitude is much lower than a 747 loaded onto a passing train. Plus I would like to imagine the temptation to shoot at something would diminish significantly as our hill billy wouldn't necessarily know it is unmanned. Not to mention anyone who has listened to a firearm safety talk is well-versed in how gravity affects projectiles. I wouldn't anticipate this being a significant problem, but it was a fun thought to entertain nonetheless. And hey I'm just spit-balling here but isn't wind a much less of an issue at dusk, night, and dawn? Would this not be a significant factor in when you would operate? I would imagine most people shooting 747s on passing trains aren't getting out of bed to do that, after all.
  - datameta 5y ago
    In my experience around sunset and sunrise there is a period of varying wind characteristics, at least this seems to be the case in a city by water.
- Cthulhu_ 5y ago
  I mean for 3, it's called 'vandalism' but it should be considered assault, attempted murder or even domestic terrorism. I'd put a security system on there (using e.g. high speed cameras) so that hopefully you can pin down where the shots come from, then sick the authorities on them. I have no tolerance for people using guns irresponsibly.
  - Mountain_Skies 5y ago
    They're unmanned though there could be a danger to people on the ground if there was enough damage done that it couldn't land under control.
    - squarefoot 5y ago
      Also if the idiots know they're unmanned and used to deliver goods, they could be even more motivated to attempt to shoot them down to steal the cargo. I also would consider putting cameras and the necessary technology to help identifying anyone attempting to shoot them down. Or maybe paint them as sharks, then add some powerful lasers on their back:)

Benclaman 5y ago

These are awesome questions! Here's a couple answers: 1) We're building our full size airship to fly at 60 mph, which increases the usability in inclement weather. 2) Joe answered this in another comment, but our airships use pretty small quantities of helium compared to the bigger ones, so it's not a major operational cost. 3) For sure this is an issue, but the bigger the blimp is, the more bullet holes you'd have to fill it with to prevent it from reaching its final destination. The german zeppelins of world war I were really hard to shoot down. See 5:47 of the below video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlQgprSGpNI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlQgprSGpNI

ManBlanket 5y ago
I just attended a 7 year old girl's birthday party who was gifted a bb gun by her domestic-swilling uncle. We confirmed the temptation to shoot balloons is real. That said it seems like the other points you mentioned are working in your favor. The chances of hitting a small moving aircraft at a relatively high altitude is much lower than a 747 loaded onto a passing train. Plus I would like to imagine the temptation to shoot at something would diminish significantly as our hill billy wouldn't necessarily know it is unmanned. Not to mention anyone who has listened to a firearm safety talk is well-versed in how gravity affects projectiles. I wouldn't anticipate this being a significant problem, but it was a fun thought to entertain nonetheless. And hey I'm just spit-balling here but isn't wind a much less of an issue at dusk, night, and dawn? Would this not be a significant factor in when you would operate? I would imagine most people shooting 747s on passing trains aren't getting out of bed to do that, after all.
- datameta 5y ago
  In my experience around sunset and sunrise there is a period of varying wind characteristics, at least this seems to be the case in a city by water.
Cthulhu_ 5y ago
I mean for 3, it's called 'vandalism' but it should be considered assault, attempted murder or even domestic terrorism. I'd put a security system on there (using e.g. high speed cameras) so that hopefully you can pin down where the shots come from, then sick the authorities on them. I have no tolerance for people using guns irresponsibly.
- Mountain_Skies 5y ago
  They're unmanned though there could be a danger to people on the ground if there was enough damage done that it couldn't land under control.
  - squarefoot 5y ago
    Also if the idiots know they're unmanned and used to deliver goods, they could be even more motivated to attempt to shoot them down to steal the cargo. I also would consider putting cameras and the necessary technology to help identifying anyone attempting to shoot them down. Or maybe paint them as sharks, then add some powerful lasers on their back:)