Amazon's new drones to start delivering packages in months

[webfact]

Amazon's new drones to start delivering packages in months

By Jeffrey Dastin and Arjun Panchadar

 

FILE PHOTO: A shipment moves on a conveyor belt at an Amazon Fulfillment Centre (BLR7) on the outskirts of Bengaluru, India, September 18, 2018. REUTERS/Abhishek N. Chinnappa/File Photo

 

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc has new drones that will deliver packages to customers in 30 minutes or less in the coming months, a step toward a goal that has eluded the retailer for years.

 

The new drone takes off and lands vertically like a helicopter, is more stable than prior models and can spot moving objects better than humans can, making it safe, Jeff Wilke, the chief executive of the company's consumer business, said at the company's "re:MARS" conference in Las Vegas on Wednesday.

 

Wilke did not say where customers might see the drone in action, but Amazon made its first customer delivery by drone in the United Kingdom in 2016.

 

For years, the world's largest online retailer has promised that packages would be landing on shoppers' doorsteps via these small aircraft, but hype around the service has long outpaced reality. The company has worked to ensure that hard-to-see wires would not trip up its vehicles, for instance, and it has faced tough regulations limiting commercial flights, particularly in the United States.

 

The company's announcement indicates its ambitions have hardly shrunk. Wilke said Amazon has been working to build fully electric drones. These can fly up to 15 miles (24 km), and Amazon is adding facilities closer to urban areas. They also can carry goods that weigh under 5 pounds (2.3 kg), which represent the majority of the items it sells.

 

At the conference, Amazon also formally introduced "StyleSnap", a feature on its smartphone app that lets shoppers upload a picture of an outfit they like and get recommendations for similar items to buy. The feature launched in April, Wilke said, noting that shoppers had struggled to find styles that they could not describe in words.

 

When providing recommendations, StyleSnap considers factors such as the brand, price range and customer reviews, the company said in a blog post.

 

Other announcements included a new warehouse sorting system already live in Denver, Colorado that relies on small robotic vehicles topped with miniature conveyor belts that take packages to the correct chutes for delivery. These, and another robot Amazon unveiled, are updates to the Kiva "drive units" the company acquired years ago.

 

Users of Amazon's voice-controlled speakers may also see updates through "Alexa Conversations," which the company announced so developers make their services on the virtual assistant Alexa more conversational. This follows work Amazon has done on the topic https://www.reuters.com/article/us-amazon-com-alexa-insight/kill-your-foster-parents-amazons-alexa-talks-murder-sex-in-ai-experiment-idUSKCN1OK1AJ of conversational AI with university researchers.

 

(Reporting by Jeffrey Dastin in San Francisco and Arjun Panchadar in Bengaluru; Editing by Susan Thomas and Lisa Shumaker)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-06-06

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[utalkin2me]

This has got to be the future. We are losing out on an entire single dimension. 

[Tug]

Oh boy target practice lol not somehow I don’t think it will workout

[steven100]

I can't wait for the pizza delivery   !! 

[Chomper Higgot]

Pop goes the delivery driver jobs. 

[Kasane]

Its a remarkable feat delivering the packages by drone, without humans, to the exact address that's on the package. Amazing technology.

[brain150]

So when will somebody ask me if I want these stupid things flying all over my head all the time ?

... because I don't !

 

But humanity is probably too stupid to see where this is going to.

[Chomper Higgot]

46 minutes ago, brain150 said:

So when will somebody ask me if I want these stupid things flying all over my head all the time ?

... because I don't !

 

But humanity is probably too stupid to see where this is going to.

Over the head of humanity?!

[Beachcomber]

9 hours ago, Kasane said:

Its a remarkable feat delivering the packages by drone, without humans, to the exact address that's on the package. Amazing technology.

I believe each customer has to have a small dedicated Landing Pad that the drone can home in on.   

[Pilotman]

Mrs P better keep her head down, they have her coordinates.

 

Just joking love. ???? 

[Humpy]

'' Sorry, can't deliver today because of high winds, snow and heavy rain ....... sorry , what floor did you say your apartment is on ? '' .  '' oh , sorry , you live in a large house with a lawn at the back. yes ? ''  ...  ''  will your dogs be indoors if and when the weather clears  ? ''  

The whole Idea is a non starter,

 

[steven100]

I'll have a double pepperoni with pineapple thanks ...  what 20 minutes or it's free  !!

Thank you ......   it'll be on my balcony in 20 minutes.

[Pique Dard]

...easy targets for thieves! they just need a gun

[emptypockets]

On 6/6/2019 at 11:48 AM, Tug said:

Oh boy target practice lol not somehow I don’t think it will workout

That's what I was thinking...  'Jeeves get the tweed jacket and the twelve gauge, see if we can bag a pair of these blighters'. 

Might turn into a poor man's version of clay pigeon shooting too. 

[emptypockets]

19 hours ago, brain150 said:

So when will somebody ask me if I want these stupid things flying all over my head all the time ?

... because I don't !

 

But humanity is probably too stupid to see where this is going to.

Saw a good fantasy short movie about masses of drones each armed with facial recognition tech and an explosive device.  They could be sent into a crowd of thousands and eliminate only certain individuals.  Scary to think this will be possible in the not too distant future. 

[Ozman52]

If a drone crashes or drops its package in my yard, do I get to keep it?  Might need an upgrade to salvage laws.

[thaibeachlovers]

The terrorists wet dream. I fail to understand how the authorities don't understand that if they allow hundreds of drones overhead, another one with a bomb will be insignificant. This puts everyone at risk of a terrorist attack, but they must know that, and are going ahead anyway. Madness.

[Morch]

3 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

The terrorists wet dream. I fail to understand how the authorities don't understand that if they allow hundreds of drones overhead, another one with a bomb will be insignificant. This puts everyone at risk of a terrorist attack, but they must know that, and are going ahead anyway. Madness.

 

Will the wished for ban include cars as well? How about them....whatyoucall'm...guns?