3 ms·

This is so transparently a fluff piece for the startup referenced in the latter falf of the article. See pg's the submarine

by whacker 13y ago

whacker 13y ago
http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html
- TrainedMonkey 13y ago
  Kudos to both of you (and to pg). I suspected something like that in action, but not to be such a well oiled machine.
diydsp 13y ago
>Mr. Raptopoulos is one of the founders of Matternet, a tiny Silicon Valley start-up that is building a UAV transportation system that he says will be useful in developing countries that lack passable roads. Developing countries trope, Check! >For the transportation of crucial goods, small drones have several distinct advantages over ground-based vehicles, he says. They're fast, ridiculous comparison (drone faster than a truck?) >energy efficient, "green" trope, Check! >and—most importantly—they don't require huge investments in infrastructure to start working. Right, because a handful of trucks is not as useful as a handful of drones! Now I'm going to watch Andreas R.'s video: >1. "1 Billion people are totally cut off for some part of the year." Has it occurred to him that their culture doesn't mandate UPS delivery? > It will take them 50 years to catch [ to our road system ] Has it occurred to him that their cultures don't want or need roads like ours? And if the roads are washed out due to rain, how are you going to charge the batteries in remote locations? certainly not with solar power! A typical UAV battery might be 24 Watt hours. That's 20 minutes charging in full sun from a typical large panel. So, you can only charge about 12 batteries per day in remote locations. You can move 24kg per day autonomously in sunny weather sigh... we are certainly living in a narcotized world!!!
- shabble 13y ago
  > Developing countries trope, Check! Because the best place to compete with huge established logistics chains is in places with well-developed road & rail infrastructure? > ridiculous comparison (drone faster than a truck?) Familiar with the term "As the crow flies"? And even the slowest drone is faster than the truck that's stuck in mud / can't pass the washed-out bridge / broke an axle in a pothole. > And if the roads are washed out due to rain, how are you going to charge the batteries in remote locations? certainly not with solar power! Stockpile them when conditions suit? Higher capacity fixed-site batteries recharged under better conditions? Wind? Scale the charging stations? If this article[1] is accurate, India is looking to upgrade >50% of its cell-phone towers (1-5kWe) over the next few years. No doubt others will be looking to do likewise, especially if they're currently paying for diesel + transport. Modular/turnkey installations of that size should become much more common/affordable. > * You can move 24kg per day autonomously* Which might be plenty if all you need are those few rather important vials of anti-venom and the roads are impassable (but you're not rich enough to actually afford a medivac). Whine whine whine. [1] http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=cellular-towers-moving-to-solar-power http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=cellular-to...

This is so transparently a fluff piece for the startup referenced in the latter falf of the article. See pg's the submarine

by whacker 13y ago

This is so transparently a fluff piece for the startup referenced in the latter falf of the article. See pg's the submarine

whacker 13y ago

http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html

TrainedMonkey 13y ago
Kudos to both of you (and to pg). I suspected something like that in action, but not to be such a well oiled machine.

diydsp 13y ago

>Mr. Raptopoulos is one of the founders of Matternet, a tiny Silicon Valley start-up that is building a UAV transportation system that he says will be useful in developing countries that lack passable roads. Developing countries trope, Check! >For the transportation of crucial goods, small drones have several distinct advantages over ground-based vehicles, he says. They're fast, ridiculous comparison (drone faster than a truck?) >energy efficient, "green" trope, Check! >and—most importantly—they don't require huge investments in infrastructure to start working. Right, because a handful of trucks is not as useful as a handful of drones! Now I'm going to watch Andreas R.'s video: >1. "1 Billion people are totally cut off for some part of the year." Has it occurred to him that their culture doesn't mandate UPS delivery? > It will take them 50 years to catch [ to our road system ] Has it occurred to him that their cultures don't want or need roads like ours? And if the roads are washed out due to rain, how are you going to charge the batteries in remote locations? certainly not with solar power! A typical UAV battery might be 24 Watt hours. That's 20 minutes charging in full sun from a typical large panel. So, you can only charge about 12 batteries per day in remote locations. You can move 24kg per day autonomously in sunny weather sigh... we are certainly living in a narcotized world!!!

shabble 13y ago
> Developing countries trope, Check! Because the best place to compete with huge established logistics chains is in places with well-developed road & rail infrastructure? > ridiculous comparison (drone faster than a truck?) Familiar with the term "As the crow flies"? And even the slowest drone is faster than the truck that's stuck in mud / can't pass the washed-out bridge / broke an axle in a pothole. > And if the roads are washed out due to rain, how are you going to charge the batteries in remote locations? certainly not with solar power! Stockpile them when conditions suit? Higher capacity fixed-site batteries recharged under better conditions? Wind? Scale the charging stations? If this article[1] is accurate, India is looking to upgrade >50% of its cell-phone towers (1-5kWe) over the next few years. No doubt others will be looking to do likewise, especially if they're currently paying for diesel + transport. Modular/turnkey installations of that size should become much more common/affordable. > * You can move 24kg per day autonomously* Which might be plenty if all you need are those few rather important vials of anti-venom and the roads are impassable (but you're not rich enough to actually afford a medivac). Whine whine whine. [1] http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=cellular-towers-moving-to-solar-power http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=cellular-to...