[The E]

So apparently, Amazon wants to use octocopters as package delivery drones.

Here we have yet another instance of Bezos et al trying to cut out a middleman. This time, it's the part of the postal services that handles lightweight Amazon Prime orders.

There are a couple problems with this:
1. Who insures the cargo?
2. How do you ensure secure delivery (I am aware that it is apparently common practice in the US to leave packages at the front door; there are more sane ways of handling packages!)?
3. How do you ensure correct delivery at all, given the ease with which these drones can be intercepted?
4. What exactly is the target market for this? At what point is it economically viable to maintain a drone fleet, given that their range is severely limited, and given that one of the big catalysts for amazon's success is the disentanglement of storefront and logistical backend (In order for this to be viable, an amazon warehouse has to be located right in the middle of high-density housing, this is definitely not the case at the moment)

Regarding question 4: As was pointed out on Twitter, this is a product by 20-25 year old tech people for 20-25 year old tech people; It's a solution to an essentially solved problem that substitutes technological progress for real-world practicability.

Finally:

[S-99]

wtf? I hate this idea more than liking it. It sounds like it's something that would be doomed to fail from just even the thought of it before put into consideration. Crazy drones flying around over the place carrying boxes? People will be thinking in the least does the box have a bomb? Other people will just be freaked out and do something to take those out.

Drones delivering stuff? People already don't like the idea of drones with the stigma they carry (if drones are killing people, then it's for government surveillance). Something tells me this is more about wanting to learn about the people who are ordering so better ads and better product suggestions will pop up on amazon for you. Not to mention, does amazon have other dealings with this? Drones could do more than just deliver packages, they can snoop around, look in windows. I imagine amazon won't be the only people who end up with the shameless act of surveillance and populace assessment information.

[The E]

wtf? I hate this idea more than liking it. It sounds like it's something that would be doomed to fail from just even the thought of it before put into consideration. Crazy drones flying around over the place carrying boxes? People will be thinking in the least does the box have a bomb? Other people will just be freaked out and do something to take those out.

This is a reasonable assumption.

Drones delivering stuff? People already don't like the idea of drones with the stigma they carry (if drones are killing people, then it's for government surveillance). Something tells me this is more about wanting to learn about the people who are ordering so better ads and better product suggestions will pop up on amazon for you. Not to mention, does amazon have other dealings with this? Drones could do more than just deliver packages, they can snoop around, look in windows. I imagine amazon won't be the only people who end up with the shameless act of surveillance and populace assessment information.

This is paranoid. There is remarkably little information Amazon could glean from any supposed surveillance cameras on their drones that would be more helpful to them than the stuff they already know about you. Not to mention that automating stuff like that is too hard for the benefits it would give you.

[Veers]

I personally would like to sit and watch these things get intercepted.. I'd find it amusing.

But if it was to be the way of the future, would be interesting to see how it all turns out. But I'll pass thanks.

[Dragon]

Eh, I'd order something like that just to have one of those drones show up at my doorstep. Only once, though, and nothing too pricey. It's a fun idea, probably useless and impractical, but still fun.

[Flipside]

How long until people are just shooting these out of the air purely to steal whatever they may be carrying?

[z64555]

Drones, especially octocopters, are a really inefficient way of mail service. I'm assuming this is only for a select few near the Amazon distribution offices that have a need for the Dork factor.

[karajorma]

I suspect the entire thing is a PR stunt.

Announce drone delivery, get everyone to talk about your company, quietly cancel drone delivery 6 months later.

[S-99]

Drones delivering stuff? People already don't like the idea of drones with the stigma they carry (if drones are killing people, then it's for government surveillance). Something tells me this is more about wanting to learn about the people who are ordering so better ads and better product suggestions will pop up on amazon for you. Not to mention, does amazon have other dealings with this? Drones could do more than just deliver packages, they can snoop around, look in windows. I imagine amazon won't be the only people who end up with the shameless act of surveillance and populace assessment information.

This is paranoid. There is remarkably little information Amazon could glean from any supposed surveillance cameras on their drones that would be more helpful to them than the stuff they already know about you. Not to mention that automating stuff like that is too hard for the benefits it would give you.

Paranoid yes indeed.
Why wouldn't amazon share the surveillance information? The proposition is more in their favor if they do (they either do or don't). My thinking wasn't just having government support for getting this idea off the ground even though it was my main thought, but if government is involved, the information will be shared.

Amazon having the idea for consideration right now is definitely too open to figure out much of anything right now for sure. But, being paranoid of new ideas based on other known stuff like being monitored on phones, internet snooping, black boxes in cars, even gps data from your car is sold by the manufacturer to law enforcement agencies. There's only a bunch of people like me to simply not like the idea from the start.

Realistically...
The last thing is that i hardly believe these drones are fully autonomous. Perhaps they are, perhaps they aren't. I'm not inclined to believe they are self flying. Most drones are piloted by a human. Which would be better than self flying drones in this case. But, can self flying drones the fly out of the way of birds about to crash into it, or not crash into a bird itself (powerlines (maybe even clothes lines?), kites)? Will amazon be off the hook when a drone breaks down midair and destroys the windshield of you car delivering someone else's package (hey, you'd at least feel better if the package was for you)?

Hopefully just a pr stunt.

EDIT: Damnit, not to light credence to my cause. Al jazeera is playing right now. And amazon using drones is one of the headlines. Showing a drone taking off with a box. Amazon has a drone. Possibly not a pr stunt if they already have drones en masse. But, amazon is able to do deliver light weight packages with drones like they said they could.

[karajorma]

Bear in mind that the kind of attention they've received from the press would cost millions to do using advertising.

Also

The drones, called Octocopters, could deliver packages weighing up to 2.3kg to customers within 30 minutes of them placing the order, he said.

However, he added that it could take up to five years for the service to start.

[StarSlayer]

I'm going to send my future jaded self a motivational betamax. 

[The E]

It is basically a marketing play, but I have to wonder how it is supposed to work. Amazon is such a fixture amongst the Internet set that they, like Google, basically do not need advertising, since they're the gold standard any competitor has to be compared against. They do not need to "boost their profile", especially not with a marketing stunt aimed at the people that are already heavy Amazon users.

[StarSlayer]

Well they bought Kiva Systems a while ago, maybe they want to corner the market on air and ground robots.

[Luis Dias]

So apparently, Amazon wants to use octocopters as package delivery drones.

Here we have yet another instance of Bezos et al trying to cut out a middleman. This time, it's the part of the postal services that handles lightweight Amazon Prime orders.

There are a couple problems with this:

(irrelevant list of technical problems)

I really have a whole different sensitivity about this than you have, The_E. When you make such a ridiculous list of possible technical issues with this, take notice that these are technical issues, and these guys (Bezos included) are extremely smart and detail-focused. These guys are really mental. So I'm 100% sure they are sussing these problems out as we are speaking.

The reason they have come out with this in 60 minutes is not only about PR. We can all be cynical and **** and that's so totes cool and ****, but we can also be a lot more serious and informed about these matters if we just want to. Yes, it's PR, but it is also (and MOSTLY) a sign to the legislative bodies and the regulatory bodies to start this discussion and get the regulations passed when they arrive with the solution to the sensible yet very much solvable problems you listed there.

So this PR stunt was not a silly Microsoft-type vaporware stunt (courier, etc), but something entirely different: a "HEY GUYS THIS IS GONNA HAPPEN SO REGULATE IT KBYETHNKS".

[The E]

Sorry, but I am pretty sure that the irrelevant technical problems are not irrelevant. If the object of the exercise is to get high-value merchandise to customers quickly, then having a delivery mechanism that can ensure delivery is a prerequisite, not a goal.

The simple matter of these devices being severely limited in range is a big issue here; barring breakthroughs in energy storage that do not seem to be on the horizon right now, this has big implications for the economic viability of this concept.

Being serious and informed about these things also means being aware of the drawbacks. It also means being aware of the current political climate with regards to autonomous or semiautonomous flying vehicles, which seems to be trending towards a general dislike.

The simple fact of the matter is that this is a solution to problems the young hip hi-tech crowd thinks it has thought up by members of the young hip hi-tech crowd, and so it has limited applicability in the real world.

[Luis Dias]

Being serious and informed about these things also means being aware of the drawbacks. It also means being aware of the current political climate with regards to autonomous or semiautonomous flying vehicles, which seems to be trending towards a general dislike.

Criticizing an idea for technical details that are well guarded in some R&D inside Amazon's headquarters is an exercise in futility, IMHO.

The other question you raise is a thousand times much more interesting, the "Do we really want this to happen" question, which is exactly why I think Bezos made the stunt. To raise awareness that this is "coming", to pave the way for its acceptance (or not!) and thus to make new deals with regulation bodies, etc.

But this wasn't your initial sensitivity, and that is why I disagreed with your take! Who really cares about technicalities, they have thousands of engineers it's their job to suss it out, not the societies'. If Bezos says they have the ways to do this thing, I believe him sufficiently so so that I am more engaged in that second question of yours.

The simple fact of the matter is that this is a solution to problems the young hip hi-tech crowd thinks it has thought up by members of the young hip hi-tech crowd, and so it has limited applicability in the real world.

Yeah, I mean who the hell will buy stuff in the internet, right? The people running such companies must be such fools, right? Oh wait.

[The E]

But this wasn't your initial sensitivity, and that is why I disagreed with your take! Who really cares about technicalities, they have thousands of engineers it's their job to suss it out, not the societies'. If Bezos says they have the ways to do this thing, I believe him sufficiently so so that I am more engaged in that second question of yours.

The simple fact of the matter is that this is a solution to problems the young hip hi-tech crowd thinks it has thought up by members of the young hip hi-tech crowd, and so it has limited applicability in the real world.

Yeah, I mean who the hell will buy stuff in the internet, right? The people running such companies must be such fools, right? Oh wait.

This whole idiocy is a solution to a problem that only exists in the minds of the young hip tech crowd. Namely, "2 day delivery is waaaayyy too slow, I want the same availability of physical goods that exists for digital ones". There is a market for a service like this, the big question is whether that market is large enough to sustain the R&D/Lobbying costs that have to be sunk into making this thing practical.

[MP-Ryan]

I read the OP and all I thought was "too bad the spread on the family shotgun would be too wide and damage the package."  Then I immediately wondered how many .22 rounds would be required to bring down an octocopter whilst leaving its cargo intact.   Forget trap and skeet shooting, many firearms owners may suddenly discover a new hobby!

After all, I know the unsecure shipping practices already used by most couriers - UPS left a $400 Google Nexus 5 ON MY DOORSTEP WITHOUT EVENING RINGING THE BELL IN -10°c WEATHER!

[Luis Dias]

There is a market for a service like this, the big question is whether that market is large enough to sustain the R&D/Lobbying costs that have to be sunk into making this thing practical.

Are you saying Bezos hasn't made that maths? The world is huge. Their client base is hundreds of millions in size. I'm pretty sure that cutting down intermediate jobs will pay for itself down the line even if the market is only a few percent of their overall share.

Again, I think these problems are a distraction (and not really *our* problem to solve!) and what really matters is the kind of questions you also raised, namely do we want this to happen, what is this new world we are creating, what kind of new landscapes of interactions is this gonna create, what are the unintended consequences this might create, etc.

[MP-Ryan]

Fans of Amazons new service compete for fastest delivery: