6 ms·

How so? Sure, a few drivers would be replaced. However, the last-mile driver is also taking care of the doorstep delivery. Even if you replace the driver, someo

by Forbo 11y ago

How so? Sure, a few drivers would be replaced. However, the last-mile driver is also taking care of the doorstep delivery. Even if you replace the driver, someone needs to finish the delivery/get signature/whatever.

dylanjermiah 11y ago
By the time SDC are here drones should be prevalent, which will take care of the last mile.
- analognoise 11y ago
  Sure, as soon as they solve the battery problem.
  - andyidsinga 11y ago
    in this use case- truck to door, alternatives like compressed air might work ..especially if they can recharge in the truck
    - jon-wood 11y ago
      I'm trying to think what you'd use compressed air for here, and the only thing I'm coming up with is some sort of parcel cannon, which while awesome does seem to have a few issues. What am I missing?
      - kalleboo 11y ago
        To power drones, presumably. You have the example of Tata's compressed-air car prototype http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/cars-running-on-air-still-on-tata-motors-radar-115013000151_1.html http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/cars-runn... Although I suspect a compressed air tank with enough capacity would be way too heavy for a drone to carry.
        andyidsinga 11y ago
        yes - that's the type of thing I'm talking about. I've heard of taxi's running on compressed air motors in dense urban environments ..maybe NYC?. The power to weight ratio is the key issue. Also -- noise could be an issue too -- want to have quiet deliveries.
      - andyidsinga 11y ago
        compressed air motor (edit>) and tank instead of electric motor and batteries.
      - andyidsinga 11y ago
        although the parcel cannon is a fantastic idea! ..not to different from how my paper is thrown at my house at 4am today :) I'm thinking parcel cannon + small airbag bumpers and maybe a little parachute to slow decent at exactly the right time :)
  - aswanson 11y ago
    It doesn't take a lot of battery power to fly a mile.
    - jacquesm 11y ago
      Depends on the weight of your package.
  - throwaway342526 11y ago
    There is no battery problem for truck-to-door. The truck charges between deliveries and spare swap-in packs pick up any slack if the duty cycle is too high.
rasz_pl 11y ago
Self-pickup/Drop-off wall of drop boxes ... mounted on a self driving truck that sends you sms 10 minutes before showing up, or better yet lets you schedule your own time and place. Shit, with retarded patent system in US someone is already patenting this as you read my post.
- cellis 11y ago
  And if that happens, point to this as prior art!
- nso95 11y ago
  You could also have a drone on the truck that picks up the package and drops it on the doorstep
moe 11y ago
Sure, a few drivers would be replaced. However, the last-mile driver is also taking care of the doorstep delivery. I agree that the last-mile driver will stick around for a bit longer, but their number is relatively small. For example: UPS owns 100k vehicles, worldwide[1]. In comparison, over 3 million people are employed by the transportation industry in the US alone[2]. [1] http://www.ups.com/content/us/en/about/facts/worldwide.html http://www.ups.com/content/us/en/about/facts/worldwide.html [2] http://www.bls.gov/emp/ep_table_201.htm http://www.bls.gov/emp/ep_table_201.htm

by Forbo 11y ago

dylanjermiah 11y ago

By the time SDC are here drones should be prevalent, which will take care of the last mile.

analognoise 11y ago
Sure, as soon as they solve the battery problem.
- andyidsinga 11y ago
  in this use case- truck to door, alternatives like compressed air might work ..especially if they can recharge in the truck
  - jon-wood 11y ago
    I'm trying to think what you'd use compressed air for here, and the only thing I'm coming up with is some sort of parcel cannon, which while awesome does seem to have a few issues. What am I missing?
    - kalleboo 11y ago
      To power drones, presumably. You have the example of Tata's compressed-air car prototype http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/cars-running-on-air-still-on-tata-motors-radar-115013000151_1.html http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/cars-runn... Although I suspect a compressed air tank with enough capacity would be way too heavy for a drone to carry.
      - andyidsinga 11y ago
        yes - that's the type of thing I'm talking about. I've heard of taxi's running on compressed air motors in dense urban environments ..maybe NYC?. The power to weight ratio is the key issue. Also -- noise could be an issue too -- want to have quiet deliveries.
    - andyidsinga 11y ago
      compressed air motor (edit>) and tank instead of electric motor and batteries.
    - andyidsinga 11y ago
      although the parcel cannon is a fantastic idea! ..not to different from how my paper is thrown at my house at 4am today :) I'm thinking parcel cannon + small airbag bumpers and maybe a little parachute to slow decent at exactly the right time :)
- aswanson 11y ago
  It doesn't take a lot of battery power to fly a mile.
  - jacquesm 11y ago
    Depends on the weight of your package.
- throwaway342526 11y ago
  There is no battery problem for truck-to-door. The truck charges between deliveries and spare swap-in packs pick up any slack if the duty cycle is too high.

rasz_pl 11y ago

Self-pickup/Drop-off wall of drop boxes ... mounted on a self driving truck that sends you sms 10 minutes before showing up, or better yet lets you schedule your own time and place. Shit, with retarded patent system in US someone is already patenting this as you read my post.

cellis 11y ago
And if that happens, point to this as prior art!
nso95 11y ago
You could also have a drone on the truck that picks up the package and drops it on the doorstep

moe 11y ago

Sure, a few drivers would be replaced. However, the last-mile driver is also taking care of the doorstep delivery. I agree that the last-mile driver will stick around for a bit longer, but their number is relatively small. For example: UPS owns 100k vehicles, worldwide[1]. In comparison, over 3 million people are employed by the transportation industry in the US alone[2]. [1] http://www.ups.com/content/us/en/about/facts/worldwide.html http://www.ups.com/content/us/en/about/facts/worldwide.html [2] http://www.bls.gov/emp/ep_table_201.htm http://www.bls.gov/emp/ep_table_201.htm