Only one item can be delivered at a time. It can’t weigh more than 5 pounds. It can’t be too big. It can’t be something breakable, since the drone drops it from 12 feet. The drones can’t fly when it is too hot or too windy or too rainy.

You need to be home to put out the landing target and to make sure that a porch pirate doesn’t make off with your item or that it doesn’t roll into the street (which happened once to Lord and Silverman). But your car can’t be in the driveway. Letting the drone land in the backyard would avoid some of these problems, but not if there are trees.

Amazon has also warned customers that drone delivery is unavailable during periods of high demand for drone delivery.

  • andrew_bidlaw@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    6
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    1 year ago

    It can be efficient, but the major pro-land point is: what would it do having 0 fuel?

    A car would stop, a drone would drop.

    It’s an exception and no one would pilot a drone to it’s exhaustion, but either way holding it in the air is a costy investment.

    • El Barto@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      2
      arrow-down
      2
      ·
      1 year ago

      How do robo-taxis or electric bikes for rent deal with the fuel problem? It’s an already solved issue.

      However, you do have a point with malfunctions.

        • El Barto@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          2
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          1 year ago

          Understood, but then robotaxis have run over people without the need of flying.

      • andrew_bidlaw@sh.itjust.works
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        3
        ·
        1 year ago

        E-bikes and e-scooters are better, but I haven’t personally seen an infrastructure to use them unless they are personally owned and recharged at home. Are there stations for them in the US?

        Robo-taxis though are their own can of worms. Discussion about their capabilities can take days.

        • El Barto@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          1 year ago

          I’m not sure how it works in the U.S., but in Europe there are stations in which users are encouraged to go to and grab a recharged battery (for a discount.) I’m guessing they have employees who do this as well…

        • El Barto@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          2
          arrow-down
          2
          ·
          edit-2
          1 year ago

          The first thing you mentioned has nothing to do with fuel, which was OP’s original argument.

          As for the second thing, I’ve already said I agreed with OP.

            • El Barto@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              1
              arrow-down
              1
              ·
              1 year ago

              I’m okay with being wrong. Check my comment history if you’d like in which I happily admit I’m being corrected.

              But you didn’t say “depleted” or “out of fuel.” You said “broken.” And that’s different.

              Can you admit that you misspoke, then?