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> Remember the "drone delivery"? (It makes no sense on the face of it, and will never happen. But it was a big press release.) You mean the drone delivery they

> Remember the "drone delivery"? (It makes no sense on the face of it, and will never happen. But it was a big press release.) You mean the drone delivery they're actively testing in the UK? The drone delivery they're fighting with the FAA about? The drone delivery they just testified before Congress about? They're spending an awful lot of time, money, and political capital on something that makes no sense, will never happen, and was just a press release.

michaelt 12y ago
When I hear "drone delivery" I hear some PR guys spending $500 on a hobby drone, carrying a trivial weight a short distance within line-of-sight of a manual operator, then we don't hear any more about it. Textbook drone delivery: http://pandodaily.com/2013/10/14/zookal-starts-world-first-delivery-by-drone-service-in-sydney/ http://pandodaily.com/2013/10/14/zookal-starts-world-first-d... Cake drone delivery: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/10206212/Pie-in-the-sky-Chinese-authorities-shoot-down-worlds-first-cake-drones.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/1020621... Pizza drone delivery: http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/dominos-tests-delivery-pizza-remote-controlled-drone-150259 http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/dominos-tests-delivery-pizza-r... Parcel delivery drones: http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-57601531-76/drones-in-china-deliver-packages-even-a-birthday-cake/ http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-57601531-76/drones-in-chin... http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/sep/25/german-dhl-launches-first-commercial-drone-delivery-service http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/sep/25/german-dhl... Beer delivery drones: http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/branding/1561256/are-beer-drones-the-future-of-music-festivals-a-qa-with-darkwing http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/branding/1561256/... Taco delivery drones: http://tacocopter.com/ http://tacocopter.com/ Burrito delivery drones: http://www.forbes.com/sites/tomiogeron/2012/12/17/burrito-bomber-drone-parachutes-carnitas-to-your-doorstep/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/tomiogeron/2012/12/17/burrito-bo... Sushi delivery drones: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=y9RKXO1rr7g http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=y9RKX... Rubber shoe delivery drones: https://www.techinasia.com/crocs-japan-drone-delivery-crash/ https://www.techinasia.com/crocs-japan-drone-delivery-crash/ General delivery drones: http://matternet.us/our-vision/ http://matternet.us/our-vision/ http://www.economist.com/news/technology-quarterly/21567193-networking-enthusiasts-dream-building-drone-powered-internet-carry-objects http://www.economist.com/news/technology-quarterly/21567193-... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/11210026/Drone-on-your-doorstep-UK-start-up-trials-delivery-service.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/11210026/Drone-on... http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/09/02/project_wing_google_delivery_drones/ http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/09/02/project_wing_google_... I think a certain amount of scepticism is warranted :)
- nknighthb 12y ago
  Last week, Amazon's VP of global public policy testified before the Senate Commerce Committee[0] about the FAA's delays in approving testing in the US that they've already begun in other countries. An FAA administrator testified in the same hearing. This comes more than a year after Amazon's initial announcement on December 1, 2013.[1] This is the same VP, by the way, that testified before the same committee in January on net neutrality.[2] Are you suggesting he's lying to Congress? Last year, Amazon hired for their Prime Air team, among other high-profile individuals, a former NASA astronaut, a Keyhole co-founder, and a mess of aerospace vets and MIT grads.[3] Argue all you want about its viability, but this is not "a press release" or "april fool's joke". [0] http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/mar/24/amazon-congress-delivery-drone-faa-regulation http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/mar/24/amazon-con... [1] http://www.cbsnews.com/news/amazon-unveils-futuristic-plan-delivery-by-drone/ http://www.cbsnews.com/news/amazon-unveils-futuristic-plan-d... [2] http://recode.net/2015/01/21/congress-still-bickering-over-net-neutrality-legislation-making-passage-unlikely-for-now/ http://recode.net/2015/01/21/congress-still-bickering-over-n... [3] http://techcrunch.com/2014/08/20/despite-faa-setbacks-amazon-prime-air-makes-notable-engineering-nasa-and-aerospace-hires/ http://techcrunch.com/2014/08/20/despite-faa-setbacks-amazon...
  - ghaff 12y ago
    I'm very very skeptical but, by all indications, Amazon does appear to be quite serious about it however much it initially looked like a PR stunt.
    - deleted 12y ago
      [deleted]
  - mturmon 12y ago
    Ah, they hired Paul Viola. He's a major talent.
PublicEnemy111 12y ago
It's also active in dubai. If you order any govt. documents, it is delivered to you via drone

michaelt 12y ago

When I hear "drone delivery" I hear some PR guys spending $500 on a hobby drone, carrying a trivial weight a short distance within line-of-sight of a manual operator, then we don't hear any more about it. Textbook drone delivery: http://pandodaily.com/2013/10/14/zookal-starts-world-first-delivery-by-drone-service-in-sydney/ http://pandodaily.com/2013/10/14/zookal-starts-world-first-d... Cake drone delivery: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/10206212/Pie-in-the-sky-Chinese-authorities-shoot-down-worlds-first-cake-drones.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/1020621... Pizza drone delivery: http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/dominos-tests-delivery-pizza-remote-controlled-drone-150259 http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/dominos-tests-delivery-pizza-r... Parcel delivery drones: http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-57601531-76/drones-in-china-deliver-packages-even-a-birthday-cake/ http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-57601531-76/drones-in-chin... http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/sep/25/german-dhl-launches-first-commercial-drone-delivery-service http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/sep/25/german-dhl... Beer delivery drones: http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/branding/1561256/are-beer-drones-the-future-of-music-festivals-a-qa-with-darkwing http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/branding/1561256/... Taco delivery drones: http://tacocopter.com/ http://tacocopter.com/ Burrito delivery drones: http://www.forbes.com/sites/tomiogeron/2012/12/17/burrito-bomber-drone-parachutes-carnitas-to-your-doorstep/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/tomiogeron/2012/12/17/burrito-bo... Sushi delivery drones: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=y9RKXO1rr7g http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=y9RKX... Rubber shoe delivery drones: https://www.techinasia.com/crocs-japan-drone-delivery-crash/ https://www.techinasia.com/crocs-japan-drone-delivery-crash/ General delivery drones: http://matternet.us/our-vision/ http://matternet.us/our-vision/ http://www.economist.com/news/technology-quarterly/21567193-networking-enthusiasts-dream-building-drone-powered-internet-carry-objects http://www.economist.com/news/technology-quarterly/21567193-... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/11210026/Drone-on-your-doorstep-UK-start-up-trials-delivery-service.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/11210026/Drone-on... http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/09/02/project_wing_google_delivery_drones/ http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/09/02/project_wing_google_... I think a certain amount of scepticism is warranted :)

nknighthb 12y ago
Last week, Amazon's VP of global public policy testified before the Senate Commerce Committee[0] about the FAA's delays in approving testing in the US that they've already begun in other countries. An FAA administrator testified in the same hearing. This comes more than a year after Amazon's initial announcement on December 1, 2013.[1] This is the same VP, by the way, that testified before the same committee in January on net neutrality.[2] Are you suggesting he's lying to Congress? Last year, Amazon hired for their Prime Air team, among other high-profile individuals, a former NASA astronaut, a Keyhole co-founder, and a mess of aerospace vets and MIT grads.[3] Argue all you want about its viability, but this is not "a press release" or "april fool's joke". [0] http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/mar/24/amazon-congress-delivery-drone-faa-regulation http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/mar/24/amazon-con... [1] http://www.cbsnews.com/news/amazon-unveils-futuristic-plan-delivery-by-drone/ http://www.cbsnews.com/news/amazon-unveils-futuristic-plan-d... [2] http://recode.net/2015/01/21/congress-still-bickering-over-net-neutrality-legislation-making-passage-unlikely-for-now/ http://recode.net/2015/01/21/congress-still-bickering-over-n... [3] http://techcrunch.com/2014/08/20/despite-faa-setbacks-amazon-prime-air-makes-notable-engineering-nasa-and-aerospace-hires/ http://techcrunch.com/2014/08/20/despite-faa-setbacks-amazon...
- ghaff 12y ago
  I'm very very skeptical but, by all indications, Amazon does appear to be quite serious about it however much it initially looked like a PR stunt.
  - deleted 12y ago
    [deleted]
- mturmon 12y ago
  Ah, they hired Paul Viola. He's a major talent.

PublicEnemy111 12y ago

It's also active in dubai. If you order any govt. documents, it is delivered to you via drone