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I would imagine airships are easier to autopilot and could be used for setting up automated warehouse to warehouse deliveries - including loading and unloading
by gumballindie 3y ago
I would imagine airships are easier to autopilot and could be used for setting up automated warehouse to warehouse deliveries - including loading and unloading cargo, establishing a continuous flow of goods.
- brucethemoose2 3y ago> warehouse to warehouse deliveries Maybe, but smaller blimps don't have very much throughput compared to trucks, much less rail. A Hindenburg sized megablimp that can actually carry a lot (but still way less than rail + trucks) is logistically difficult. Seems like the niche is more point-to-point, where a large cargo needs to get somewhere unusual or unscheduled, and kinda quick. Something too big or too cheap for a helicopter, and maybe where a manned truck would not work or have a similar cost.
- ianburrell 3y agoArticle says 4 tons of payload. That is one truck load. Might even be a panel truck.
- mschuster91 3y agoPerfect for wind turbine blades - their ever increasing length makes shipping them a pain, but they are very lightweight.
- brucethemoose2 3y agoYeah, thats the perfect application. Maybe prefab structures too? All but the smallest dwellings are too bulky for roads.
- brucethemoose2 3y agoOh I missed that. Its more than I expected from a "small" prototype blimp.
- Turskarama 3y agoThis one is also somewhat of a prototype though, the plan is to make much larger airships in the future.
- bobthepanda 3y agothere are automated mining trains, today. https://www.riotinto.com/en/news/stories/how-did-worlds-biggest-robot https://www.riotinto.com/en/news/stories/how-did-worlds-bigg... if you are building new then an automated isolated railway network is not hard to achieve; and with any airship infrastructure you are pretty much building new anyways.
- bluGill 3y agoNot just mining. A number of public tranist trains run.fully automated.
- lock-the-spock 3y agoIndeed, e.g. Paris metro is fully or nearly automated as they wanted to reduce the risk of driver strikes.
- c-smile 3y ago> warehouse deliveries Main problem here is that it is a floating device. As soon as it unloads 4 tons of cargo it gets pushed up with 4 tons force upwards. And you'd better do not release helium to compensate that - it is quite expensive. Without solving that problem airships are mostly for travel...
- Gare 3y agoThere are many routes where cargo needs to be moved both ways
- didgeoridoo 3y ago4 tons of water is smaller than a cube 6ft on the side. Water flows where you want it, it’s disposable without special procedures, and is literally available anywhere out of the tap. This doesn’t seem like the hard part. Edit: sibling comment points out that helium can also be compressed. I don’t think “too much lift” is an intractable issue.
- jakemoshenko 3y agoDo they not compress the helium they have internally? Seems like an obvious solution so I must be missing something.
- imtringued 3y agoYou need a large compressor and carry the energy around.
- Turskarama 3y agoWhen loading/unloading you just tether it to the ground. If you must fly it without a specific cargo you probably just fill it with water.