[Scourge of Ages]

Only time it's ever happened. Way to go Amazon, deliver by far the most expensive thing I've ever bought from you to the wrong Address. Big thumbs up for you!

Technically, that's the fault of your local postal/parcel delivery service. Unless AZ didn't bother to spring for signature confirmation, which they probably should have if it's available.

EDIT: Actually, that's one of the problems that Amazon would like to eliminate by cutting out the middleman delivery companies in this way.

[The E]

But it's a problem they can't eliminate with this technology. The proposed drones just do not have the lift capacity to carry something as large as a PS3; And you can bet that drones large enough for that would be waaaayyy too expensive.

Amazon isn't looking to replace the bulk of its delivery infrastructure just yet. Just the pieces that are flashy.

Also, these problems really are outliers. There are millions of deliveries by Amazon every week, sheer statistics means that some will get ****ed up.

[Lorric]

Only time it's ever happened. Way to go Amazon, deliver by far the most expensive thing I've ever bought from you to the wrong Address. Big thumbs up for you!

Technically, that's the fault of your local postal/parcel delivery service. Unless AZ didn't bother to spring for signature confirmation, which they probably should have if it's available.

EDIT: Actually, that's one of the problems that Amazon would like to eliminate by cutting out the middleman delivery companies in this way.

I've never had to sign for anything delivered from Amazon. At least I don't think I have. Certainly that woman didn't have to sign for my PS3 anyway, and deliveries have been left outside.

[Scourge of Ages]

Related comic, by PVP http://www.pvponline.com/comic/2013/12/03/last-minute-shopping

[Lorric]

The idea of people shooting the drones down is very funny to me.

Unless it's for fun, you're not likely to be able to steal anything of any value. Even if you don't end up putting a bullet into the goods being carried, the goods will fall to Earth and likely be destroyed.

[Polpolion]

Am I the only one that thinks this is really cool? The fact that they think they can do this autonomously, logistics aside, must mean that they've solved some pretty great technological problems.

[MP-Ryan]

Scourge, on the altitude issue, while 200-300 feet would make for a mighty difficult slingshot hit, a novice with a properly-sighted low-calibre rifle should be able to hit something the size of a drone with not a whit of difficulty.

I'm by no means an expert with a rifle, and I can repeatedly put rounds through the center can in a pyramid of pop cans with a .22 at a range of 200 feet with no difficulty, and my family .22 has iron sights (no telescopic sighting).

100 yards is nothing for a rifle; your average 12-gauge shotgun should have an effective range of 50 yards or so (which can be increased).  About the only things a 300 distance is a challenge for in terms of weaponry are bows, handguns, and slingshots =)

Just saying the vandalism potential here is pretty huge.  Illegal, but huge.

[Dragon]

Keep in mind, we're talking moving targets here. It's by no means easy to hit a small, moving drone high in the sky. Shooting cans from a bench is a whole different thing than AA gunnery. Not to mention support becomes problematic, you have to hold a rifle at an awkward angle which makes precise shots difficult. You might have one or two good shots if it's going directly overhead, but that's it. For such things, you'd normally use a shotgun (much like for skeet or bird hunting), but if they fly fast and high, that could prove problematic, too. Oh, and even that would be easily mitigated by making the drone fly a randomized zigzag pattern. There's a reason AA guns have ROFs in thousands of rounds per minute, a fast moving, maneuvering target is very hard to hit.

[The E]

Oh, and even that would be easily mitigated by making the drone fly a randomized zigzag pattern.

You do know that drones, especially ones that have to carry cargo, do not have unlimited energy available for evasive maneuvers, right?

[BloodEagle]

Not to mention the extra maintenance costs associated with the increased stress and activity.

[666maslo666]

Well, at least around here, the couriers require you to sign a confirmation that you received the package. If you don't (because it isn't for you), they'll usually apologize go off looking for the proper address. While I suppose you could stick such a piece of paper to a drone, I don't know how you'd convince it that you address isn't the correct one.

The drone can have a communication device on it, similar to a phone.

Point 2 - The range is too short to effectively serve enough people.
Amazon warehouses tend to be either in or very close to population centers. The market is already right next to the source.

Charging outposts?

[karajorma]

Better yet, create a smaller drone designed to plug into these and hijack the system.  You'll soon have your own personal army of octocopters, along with their precious cargo.

Already done.

http://arstechnica.com/security/2013/12/flying-hacker-contraption-hunts-other-drones-turns-them-into-zombies/

[Dragon]

Oh, and even that would be easily mitigated by making the drone fly a randomized zigzag pattern.

You do know that drones, especially ones that have to carry cargo, do not have unlimited energy available for evasive maneuvers, right?

Not unlimited, but a simple zigzag pattern shouldn't be that much of a drag on a small drone. This ain't rocketry, where a few kilograms or an odd oscillation can mean the difference between a stable orbit and falling back to Earth. They would probably be built with plenty of fuel/charge to spare anyway. It'd be enough for the sideways movements to span about 1-3 widths of a drone to make hitting it very, very hard without a dedicated AA gun. Any yes, it would probably look as if it drunk more than it's share.

[Mars]

Not Amazon. Whoever the package carrier was.

[Lorric]

How do these drones know where to land, and how do they make their presence known when they do? It can't knock on your door, can it? Is it just going to drop your package and leave? If you're not there, anyone could come in and steal it.

[The E]

How do these drones know where to land, and how do they make their presence known when they do? It can't knock on your door, can it? Is it just going to drop your package and leave? If you're not there, anyone could come in and steal it.

Well, the idea is that you're going to use this to get deliveries right to your GPS coordinates, so hopefully you will be there to grab it directly from the drone or so.
Wouldn't be any point to this whole exercise if they would just act as really ****ty couriers.

[Lorric]

How do these drones know where to land, and how do they make their presence known when they do? It can't knock on your door, can it? Is it just going to drop your package and leave? If you're not there, anyone could come in and steal it.

Well, the idea is that you're going to use this to get deliveries right to your GPS coordinates, so hopefully you will be there to grab it directly from the drone or so.
Wouldn't be any point to this whole exercise if they would just act as really ****ty couriers.

Right, thanks.

[BloodEagle]

Is it just going to drop your package and leave? If you're not there, anyone could come in and steal it.

It seems to be working for UPS.

[Lorric]

Is it just going to drop your package and leave? If you're not there, anyone could come in and steal it.

It seems to be working for UPS.

Do they use drones? Or are you talking about real people? A real person can hide something away, and tell you where it is.

[The E]

Do they use drones? Or are you talking about real people? A real person can hide something away, and tell you where it is.

They are talking about real people. And no, a postal worker (Regardless of which service provider) who just "hides" packages is grossly negligent.

Here's a story: Couple months back, I bought a PS3 via Amazon. Delivery was via DHL. The idiot who made the delivery, upon not finding anyone at our home, decided it would be a marvellous idea to hide the package ... in the waste paper bin outside my home.
Now, everything went just fine, I got the package and all, but there are so many things that could have gone wrong. Protocol for this is to first see if any neighbor is available to take the package. If that's not possible for whatever reason, the package is taken back to the nearest post office so that the recipient can get it himself.
By dumping this package in the bin, there was a severe risk of it getting stolen. There are a lot of kids in this street, lots of people goign by, one of them would just have to witness this and see a shiny big Amazon package in the bin. Or, radical thought, what would have happened if these bins were emptied on that day?

Messing with mail is a pretty big offence in most jurisdictions. Ensuring secure delivery is one of the reasons why we pay companies like DHL and UPS for their services.
Part of that is that the deliverer HAS to have positive confirmation that the package has been safely delivered to the recipient or a proxy. "Just hide it"? No, thank you.