Amazon has released video of its new Amazon Prime Air delivery drone prototype. The video, narrated by former Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson, depicts an octocopter rising vertically to 400 feet before switching on the rear propeller. Amazon claims that it has a range of up to 15 miles. From the Jeff Bezos-owned Washington Post:
The video shows the drone switching into "landing mode" and descending onto a "delivery zone" in the customer's backyard. The drone releases the package onto what looks like a sheet of plastic with an Amazon logo. The larger the yard and the less tree cover, the easier the landing will be.
[...] Amazon says its drone has "sophisticated 'sense and avoid' technology," which will be essential for those backyard landings. Everyone from big tech companies such as Amazon to start-ups is developing this technology, so that drones can identify obstacles and automatically avoid them. For example, with sense and avoid, a drone would realize a dog had strayed into its landing zone, and not land until the coast was clear. Because this prototype has nine propellers it will still function even if multiple motors fail.
One section of the video, which Amazon notes is actual flight footage, shows the drone flying between 55-58 mph. That speed will come in handy if Amazon is going to deliver on its promise of getting packages to customers in 30 minutes.
Amazon isn't saying how much this prototype weighs, only that its drones weigh less than 55 pounds. And it's not sharing the prototype's wingspan. If you look at the photo below and remember that blue box is actually a shoe box, it's obvious the drone is far larger than the consumer drones we see most frequently, such as the DJI Phantom and Parrot Bebop.
News, or ploy to increase "Cyber Monday" and Christmas season sales?
(Score: 2) by captain normal on Tuesday December 01 2015, @04:39AM
I can just see a drone landing in a back yard and some super fast dobie just jumping on it and rending it to pieces.
When life isn't going right, go left.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Tuesday December 01 2015, @04:49AM
I have no idea how they plan to deal with dogs, but the thing is gigantic. It won't be torn apart.
https://img.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://img.washingtonpost.com/blogs/innovations/files/2015/11/TAKEO-33DROP-p-33LANDING-zx-3125prime-air_03.jpg&w=1484 [washingtonpost.com]
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(Score: 2) by Fnord666 on Tuesday December 01 2015, @03:09PM
I have no idea how they plan to deal with dogs, but the thing is gigantic. It won't be torn apart.
Ok, that's quite a beast and will definitely hurt if it falls on you or crash lands on a busy highway.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Tuesday December 01 2015, @03:54PM
Fuck, just let Amazon land on my head. Then I can sue Bezos.
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(Score: 2) by SanityCheck on Tuesday December 01 2015, @05:05PM
Get one of those [a] things shaved on top of your head by your barber, and stand motionless in the backyard, the drone will do the rest!
(Score: 2) by isostatic on Tuesday December 01 2015, @04:06PM
However having the drone tearing apart a small dog (or child) will be entertaining. Make sure you've got an alternative to EC2 for when Amazon goes bankrupt as their drones get hijacked and start delivering all kinds of badness too.
(Score: 2) by captain normal on Wednesday December 02 2015, @06:13AM
Perspective can really be confusing. Like the fisherman who holds the fish as far out in front of him as he can.
When life isn't going right, go left.
(Score: 2) by isostatic on Tuesday December 01 2015, @10:10AM
And then the cost of replacement appears on your credit card
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 01 2015, @04:52AM
I know I only read TFS, but is the Amazon logo going to be mandatory?
What if you want to have a competitor deliver some packages at around the same time?
(Score: 2) by takyon on Tuesday December 01 2015, @05:00AM
You slap a different plastic logo on your lawn 20 ft away?
This is just a prototype.
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(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 01 2015, @05:27AM
target practice with prizes. Bring it on !!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 01 2015, @06:38AM
arrested by Amazon police
(Score: 4, Touché) by theluggage on Tuesday December 01 2015, @11:27AM
arrested by Amazon police
"Dear Felon: Amazon Security Logistics attempted to arrest you today but as our agents were unable to gain access to the front door within the 15 second target time we allow them. So, we arrested your neighbour instead. If you wish to change your preferences for future arrests please log in to your Amazon account and click on the 'My Felonies' tab. We would apologise for the inconvenience but, frankly, we're so big now that as long as about 80% of straightforward deliveries get through its more profitable for us to cut corners than worry about the minority of customers who care enough about reliable deliveries to vote with their feet. Anyway, we've pretty well bankrupted any remaining reliable courier firms by starting our own, so its not like you have a ton of reliable couriers to choose from...
(Score: 3, Funny) by Knowledge Troll on Tuesday December 01 2015, @06:49AM
I'd rather see the thing hover 10 feet over the ground and lower the package down on a rope like a Skycrane helicopter or Mars lander. This thing looks like it swooped down and crapped a package out on the lawn.
(Score: 4, Funny) by Fnord666 on Tuesday December 01 2015, @03:05PM
I'd rather see the thing hover 10 feet over the ground and lower the package down on a rope like a Skycrane helicopter or Mars lander. This thing looks like it swooped down and crapped a package out on the lawn.
If they want to keep the experience consistent with current providers, they should just hover at 10' and drop the package from there.
(Score: 1) by Knowledge Troll on Tuesday December 01 2015, @04:25PM
Ah yes I saw a great howto for delivering packages. Oh here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Q6_9A90cUk [youtube.com]. I'm going to see if I can get a quadcopter to do that.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 01 2015, @07:55AM
Can we just cut the cute rebranding? We all know what this will be! It was in one of those terribly bad Tremors movies. Rear Propellers= AssBlasters! Oh, what carnage does Amazon wish to expose us to, all for a smidgen of profit? Ebenezer, that you?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 01 2015, @10:36AM
I don't even see why they need one. If you want forward thrust, just tilt forwards, so a component of your thrust points forwards. All they've added is another rotor which sits idle part of the time. I.e. waste.
(Score: 1) by jimtheowl on Tuesday December 01 2015, @11:18AM
Perhaps they cannot tilt all the propellors to 90 degrees without more complexity. It is far more efficient to use lift from the wings than to constantly fight gravity. I'm sure they didn't just randomly pick a design. A lot of testing goes into a drone that can reach 15 miles.
(Score: 2) by GreatAuntAnesthesia on Tuesday December 01 2015, @04:20PM
Clicked the link and was immediately presented with Jeremy Clarkson's moronic, smug head. Very few things will get an alt-f4 from me quicker than that. If Amazon think that unlikeable, self-entitled jizzbottle is a good choice to represent their brand then there is something seriously wrong with them.
(Score: 2) by Geotti on Tuesday December 01 2015, @04:47PM
Why do you close the browser with all the other tabs open? This is soylent, you can write CTRL+W and people will understand.
(Score: 2) by mrchew1982 on Tuesday December 01 2015, @06:02PM
I have to wonder sometimes if all of this drone talk is just something to use in negotiations with package carriers to get reduced rates. Honestly if it were economically feasible the package carriers themselves would be all over the tech, but for now it's cheaper to pay a hairless gorilla to jump in and out of the truck to deliver packages...
(Score: 2) by urza9814 on Friday December 04 2015, @02:36PM
Well, the first reason is it's not feasible yet, but *someone* has to do the R&D to get it there if it's ever going to happen. The package carriers will pick it up when they can pretty much buy an off the shelf system.
I think it's also a different target market though. Package carriers aren't doing thirty minute delivery. If they wanted to they certainly could do it already with bike couriers -- with a 15 mile range the drone isn't going anywhere a bike couldn't, and with Amazon's landing strategy they certainly aren't hitting any apartments or most office buildings either. Not quite sure where they intend to use this thing. But the shipping companies are more focused on getting stuff across the country instead of doing the last mile. Hell, lately they've nearly given up on the last mile and handed it all over to the post office. And the post office is too busy getting screwed by Congress to do any big R&D like this.
(Score: 2) by deadstick on Tuesday December 01 2015, @07:44PM
ploy to increase "Cyber Monday" and Christmas season sales?
Of course it is. It makes no economic sense whatever...just Christmas season clickbait, like last year.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 02 2015, @12:11AM
/article.pl?sid=15/11/28/165219 [soylentnews.org]