Delivery Drones

Delivery drone are a popular topic in technology news, especially for those of us who find ourselves spending too much time on Amazon tracking our Prime shipments. According to this article Amazon is no longer the only company considering delivery drones, Google and Dominos are trying to get into the drone market as well.

               Not surprisingly Google appears to be off to a great start with their drone development, unlike Amazon which plans to develop multi-rotor aircrafts, Google has taken the more innovative approach and chosen fixed wing aircrafts with vertical takeoff and landing capability. Today conventional multi-rotor aircraft have a max flight time of no more than 30 minutes, and likely even less when carrying cargo. This limited flight time combined with a max velocity of around 30-35mph gives these drones a range of about 16 miles one way, or about eight miles for a round trip. If you don’t live within eight miles of an Amazon warehouse don’t expect to see Amazon drones landing on your doorstep anytime soon. Google’s fixed wing aircraft can fly faster and longer than Amazon’s multi-rotor design. To be fair what the fixed wing aircraft gain in speed and flight time, they lose in maneuverability. Rather than landing on your doorstep, Google’s delivery drones might need to settle for your front lawn.

               Drone technology is available and has been for a few years now, but why haven’t we seen commercial drones in the sky? Amazon and Google have struggled with laws and regulations which currently ban all commercial use of unmanned aerial vehicles, even today these laws are still preventing Amazon and Google from doing the necessary testing needed before they can be put into commercial use. Recently the first commercial drone was given permission to fly over American airspace, in Alaska. I guess lawmakers figured there was no risk of the drone endangering people in such a remote location. Even more recently the FAA has allowed the use of drones for filmmaking in Hollywood. It is only a matter of time before Amazon and Google will be allowed to test their delivery drones, and if it takes too long to get approval in America they will go to other countries.

               People think of delivery drones as a violation of their privacy, since they may be equipped with cameras. Having cameras onboard delivery drones is not necessary since flight and navigation is accomplished using small computers and GPS receivers. Even though cameras may not be needed for basic flight, Amazon or Google may use on board cameras to verify package delivery or for other security reasons. In the article Google says their flight altitude would be 130-200ft; at this altitude the only view the camera would have is similar to the views satellites get as they pass over head. Just as we rely on Google’s discretion when blurring out people in their maps application we should have the same confidence that images taken by delivery drones would not invade our privacy.