4 ms·

Trucks deliver bulk from distribution hubs to small 'drone stations' and the last mile (almost literally) would be by drone. Maybe even from a mobile drone stat

Trucks deliver bulk from distribution hubs to small 'drone stations' and the last mile (almost literally) would be by drone. Maybe even from a mobile drone station, i.e. big truck with drone manager and driver who stay in the truck unless there is a problem.

DigitalJack 13y ago
I was initially thinking this would be a mobile launch. Must be a later phase. I could see something like this working for Pizza Hut though.
adolph 13y ago
Human augmentation rather than replacement is key (at least in the early stages). Imagine a delivery truck with a set of drones on top. As the human drives (for now) and delivers, the human also racks up packages that the drones can deliver. In between deliveries the drones charge from the truck and when the truck heads back to base the drones who don't need maintenance tasks fly to the next incoming truck. UPS in my neighborhood has done something similar in Christmases past--they have trucks bringing in bulk and bicycle delivery doing house by house. I didn't notice it this year; I don't know if it was a failed experiment or if I just missed seeing them. War is Boring has an interesting post about using unmanned aircraft as a weapon-truck wing-man instead of an independent operator: https://medium.com/war-is-boring/64b87d155545 https://medium.com/war-is-boring/64b87d155545
- etanazir 13y ago
  If the taxes in France are too high Amazon might consider launching the latest bestseller from a submarine located offshore. http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/06/us/submarine-drone-launch/ http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/06/us/submarine-drone-launch/
- comrade_ogilvy 13y ago
  I think a variation of your idea is a winner. The top of the delivery truck can have lots of instrumentation to determine whether the final approach is safe, and help guide the landing. The human does the last 50 feet of delivery. A computer can know exactly where the trucks are and when they will be in the vicinity. The delivery time can be fairly accurately estimated on the spot. In an urban environment, bikes could do the last mile, with the robots delivered to pre-designated drop off points. A predetermined location would be easy on the computer. But I think your idea works better in a suburban zone. The trucks exist and are constantly driving around. It is a question of how to re-prioritize the work on the fly.

DigitalJack 13y ago

I was initially thinking this would be a mobile launch. Must be a later phase. I could see something like this working for Pizza Hut though.

adolph 13y ago

Human augmentation rather than replacement is key (at least in the early stages). Imagine a delivery truck with a set of drones on top. As the human drives (for now) and delivers, the human also racks up packages that the drones can deliver. In between deliveries the drones charge from the truck and when the truck heads back to base the drones who don't need maintenance tasks fly to the next incoming truck. UPS in my neighborhood has done something similar in Christmases past--they have trucks bringing in bulk and bicycle delivery doing house by house. I didn't notice it this year; I don't know if it was a failed experiment or if I just missed seeing them. War is Boring has an interesting post about using unmanned aircraft as a weapon-truck wing-man instead of an independent operator: https://medium.com/war-is-boring/64b87d155545 https://medium.com/war-is-boring/64b87d155545

etanazir 13y ago
If the taxes in France are too high Amazon might consider launching the latest bestseller from a submarine located offshore. http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/06/us/submarine-drone-launch/ http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/06/us/submarine-drone-launch/
comrade_ogilvy 13y ago
I think a variation of your idea is a winner. The top of the delivery truck can have lots of instrumentation to determine whether the final approach is safe, and help guide the landing. The human does the last 50 feet of delivery. A computer can know exactly where the trucks are and when they will be in the vicinity. The delivery time can be fairly accurately estimated on the spot. In an urban environment, bikes could do the last mile, with the robots delivered to pre-designated drop off points. A predetermined location would be easy on the computer. But I think your idea works better in a suburban zone. The trucks exist and are constantly driving around. It is a question of how to re-prioritize the work on the fly.