Imagine ordering something
online and then half an hour later it's dropped off for you by a mini-drone.
It might sound like science
fiction, but some well known retailers are currently testing possible delivery
methods with the hope that drones will be delivering goods to their customers in
the next five years. Online retailer Amazon is one of these retailers and they
are enthusiastic that their delivery drones one day will be delivering items to
their customers within 30 minutes of them placing an order.
US law does not yet allow the
use of drones for this purpose but it is expected that laws and regulations will
be in place by 2020. Amazon boss Jeff Bezos said in a recent interview that the
company is ready to introduce its drone delivery system as soon as those laws
are in place.
What does
this mean for the future of online purchasing and online classifieds? Companies
like Amazon will employ their own delivery drones but this also opens up the
door for new business ventures of independent drone delivery companies whose
primary activity is to deliver purchased goods from retailer to customer.
Imagine you order a pizza online from your local pizza parlor and within 30
minutes it is delivered to your own backyard by an independent delivery drone.
Free classified websites will be filling up with drone delivery services to
deliver anything from groceries to a six-pack of your favorite beer.
Many technological and safety
issues remain to be resolved, however, before drone deliveries become a
reality. While it is currently possible for delivery coordinates to be
programmed into GPS navigational systems, it is rather hard to imagine how
drones will deal with telephone and power lines and how to navigate around
people and other moving objects. Dr Darren Ansell, a UAV (Unmanned Aerial
Vehicles) expert from the University of Central Lancashire said: "The UAVs
do not currently have the awareness of their environment to be able to avoid
flying into people. Other things to consider are security of the products
during the transit. With no one to guard them the aircraft and package could be
captured and stolen,”
Until now drones have been
used almost exclusively in combat zones. We have all heard of the stories where
drones have delivered deadly strikes to targets in faraway places and also how
sometimes they have crashed into populated areas killing innocent people. But
like many technologies that have been designed for use in military conflicts,
we are now seeing another example of how to adapt such technologies for
domestic use and improve our everyday life.
Maybe you need a new fan belt
from your local dealership and the parts manager quickly gets it delivered to
you by drone. Maybe you have ordered a news steering cable for your boat from a
boat classifieds
website and the supplier sends it out immediately via an
independent drone delivery service. Or maybe you are just out fishing with your
buddies and you have run out of beer.
Don’t worry; it’s on the way
soon to “drone” in on you.
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