13 ms·
DJI's First Delivery Drone Takes Flight Globally
- Gys 3y agohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5yJillvmCs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5yJillvmCs
- rkagerer 3y agoInteresting they didn't show it in any urban environments. Not pushing that application yet?
- 6nf 3y agoPrevious urban delivery drone services had trouble with noise complaints, could be related to that?
- ThisIsMyAltAcct 3y agoWith 4 counter-rotating props, that would not surprise me
- rkagerer 3y agoRecently discovered Sharrow boat props. Apparently the guy who invented them first developed the the concept for reducing noise from drones filming orchestras. I'm surprised we aren't seeing more widespread availability yet of "tipless" drone propellers. https://youtu.be/MNnB_50Z20I?t=553s https://youtu.be/MNnB_50Z20I?t=553s Previous HN discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33949895 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33949895 Similar design MIT patented: https://news.mit.edu/2022/lincoln-laboratory-inventions-win-rd-100-awards-0921 https://news.mit.edu/2022/lincoln-laboratory-inventions-win-...
- Zanfa 3y agoThere may have been new attempts, but when I last looked into these types of drone propellers, nobody seems to have been successfully able to demonstrate they actually offer significant improvements (either noise or efficiency) over traditional designs. To be fair, the limiting factor might be manufacturing capabilities, given most attempts were using 3d printed propellers which results in terrible surface finish, compared to injection molding.
- borissk 3y agoOne way to solve the noise problem is a drone flying high and dropping the parcel on a long rope.
- rkagerer 3y agoThanks. The boat prop offers some efficiency gains in mid-range speeds and better hole shot acceleration, but I guess the benefits don't carry to smaller scales and less viscous surroundings.
- throw310822 3y agoMake perfect sense. Mountains/ sea: expensive deliveries, lack of infrastructure, long delivery time, easy environment to navigate, less competition. Urban: cheap deliveries with plenty of existing infrastructure and competitors, complex and dangerous environment to navigate.
- dzhiurgis 3y agoI mostly agree, but this looks cheaper than car
- jorisboris 3y agoSurprised it actually still needs a pilot, although they do mention it can save previously flown routes, not sure how much that automates flying the same route over and over again?
- wly_cdgr 3y agoHow is there no picture of the drone in action in the article?!
- pimlottc 3y agoThere's images on the product page: https://www.dji.com/delivery https://www.dji.com/delivery
- fragmede 3y agoThey've got a launch video on YouTube. https://youtu.be/W5yJillvmCs https://youtu.be/W5yJillvmCs
- colordrops 3y agoHere's a video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hhp11I-vGHA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hhp11I-vGHA
- prawn 3y agohttps://www.dji.com/au/flycart-30 https://www.dji.com/au/flycart-30
- roenxi 3y agoThis technology has clear military applications. It is amazing watching the nature of war changing literally year by year. I assume this is what it was like in the World War I & II era watching tanks being developed.
- godzillabrennus 3y agoI think the observer in that era was watching it change in the streets if they were lucky enough to survive.
- downWidOutaFite 3y agoIt's so much cheaper than tanks though, as long you can get a satellite connection. Which means Elon is ideally positioned to compete with nation states if he wants to. I mean more than he already is. Scary dude.
- intrasight 3y agoHe'll be more scary when he lives on Mars
- borissk 3y agoGiven the SpaceX unrivaled space launch powers Elon can deploy a number of Rods of God and play God.
- p1mrx 3y ago[flagged]
- awinter-py 3y agonot my area, but it seems like states who use small drones have begun manufacturing their own https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-produce-one-million-drones-next-year-zelenskiy-says-2023-12-19/ https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-produce-one-mil... https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/construction-progresses-russian-plant-iranian-drones-report-2023-11-13/ https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/construction-progresses... ^ not just ukraine but I think they're the farthest along this curve
- dthakur 3y agoAnyone know how this compares to zipline's platform?
- sho_hn 3y agoZipline: 1.8kg/85km/95 km/h (Platform 1) or 3.6kg/16km/110 km/h (Platform 2) (speeds are cruise) DJI: 30kg/16km or 40kg/8km, 70 km/h (max)
- m3kw9 3y agoCrazy piece of hw and sw engineering, I’m just thinking these things can drop bombs in UA
- brindlejim 3y agoDJI has been delivering payloads in Ukraine for some time now.
- corethree 3y agoIt foretells a future of DJI delivering payloads in the US.
- echelon 3y agoIs there a US drone manufacturer on-par with DJI, or does DJI have the entire field on lock? What about if broken down by sector - consumer/prosumer/hobbyist, industrial, military?
- hiddencost 3y agoParent is suggesting we'll see war or terrorism in the US with drones. It was in response to a comment about Ukraine, where DJI drones are heavily (maybe as many as 50k [0]a month by the Ukrainians) to drop hand grenades in trenches. Honestly realistic. Very hard to stop. [0] https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-january-12-2024 https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offens...
- corethree 3y agoNo. DJI is a Chinese company. If it happens, the next world changing conflict after ww2 is war with China. You can bet your ass China will weaponize those drones if that happens, and that's a really big IF.
- cultofmetatron 3y agoId be terrified of a war with china. a typical dji pocket drone would be a effective miliary tool in the right hands and they don't even consider that miliary grade. I can only wonder what the "good stuff" looks like.
- jjtang1 3y agoCan I use this to drop my kid off at school? ;)
- mattmaroon 3y agoWell if they weigh under 40kg and live less than 8km from school and have really good grip strength yes.
- bredren 3y agoThere is a winch mode, and it can counter swings, so a solid set of overalls should allow safe and effective payload delivery.
- singularity2001 3y ago*Can counter swings of _passive_ objects
- 4gotunameagain 3y agoJust give them some short acting tranquillisers and tie them to the winch, problem solved.
- InCityDreams 3y ago'Drop' from what height?
- aaron695 3y ago[dead]
- jmercouris 3y agoWhat I don't understand is when things like this are scaled up, would you not want the greater efficiency of a larger single rotor like a helicopter?
- ozr 3y agoThey've got the vast majority of their business in 'traditional' quads, it's their core competency. This is a bit of a lark which could be very cool, but making the investment in a new platform that's very different specifically for it is probably not worth the cost and complexity.
- anovikov 3y agoSo the drone that has the range and payload matching or exceeding that of practical unguided artillery, is there.
- new_user_final 3y agoEven with the large drone manufacturer, why the cost of drone is so high? We have reached a point where we can build high performance single board computer under 100 dollars because we can automate the build process.
- bozhark 3y agoDelivery drones have a lot of extra specialized needs. Like defense.
- numpad0 3y agoprobably motors and power electronics, requisite precision as well as durability requiring more materials, or perhaps due to lack of cost saving pressure - the (whichever)government will pay, will appreciate extra reliability, and extraneous cost is just extra cash flow for the company and genuinely positive for economy too; there's no need or even tangible benefit to meeting goals at slightly south of theoretical minimum cost in the way it has to happen at microscopic scale(at home)
- londons_explore 3y agoThe cheapest drones come in at $8, with free shipping. They have accelerometer, gyro, full 4 channel control - basically a stripped down version of everything in a big drone (no optical flow based stabilization tho)
- londons_explore 3y agoNo pictures at all?