Amazon Prime Air

[hedge]

Its been covered on another forum but worthy of sticking here. Love it or hate it here it is.

Amazon makes first drone delivery - BBC News

Paul

[Grumpy]

Just a publicity stunt IMHO.. Maybe one day it will be a reality but there a lot of technical, safety and legislative barriers they beet to get past before its ever going to be a practical proposition.

[waveydavey]

I tend to agree with Grumpy with regard the legislation and practicalities but, I can't see them pouring money into this if there wasn't an agenda. I can't see it as a publicity stunt, no point, everyone knows who Amazon are and what they sell. I do think this will happen, maybe not in the next couple of years but it will.

[hedge]

Worth watching the video - they currently only have 2 customers. TBH if I could order something and get it in 2 hours I would. Imagine the possibilities.

[Grumpy]

Worth watching the video - they currently only have 2 customers. TBH if I could order something and get it in 2 hours I would. Imagine the possibilities.

But the distribution centres has to be within the few miles operational radius of a loaded up drone. So why not just pop round and get it, just like you do to the local shops?

What's the drone actually adding other than saving you a five minute drive? And bear in mind that this service won't be free, it's going to come at a heck of a premium. Someones got to pay for the thousands of extra distribution centres required to be within drone range, plus if you want to get same day deliver massive extra stock they will have to carry to stock these extra centres, not to mention the cost of the drones and their operation/upkeep.

The more I think about it the more showstoppers become obvious. IMHO it will never fly (pun intended) without a quantum leap in battery technology so as to give more load capacity and much more range.

[ChrisB]

I heard about this thru work back in July/August,we have a big delivery contract with Amazon and this idea is indeed just a promotional gimmik and is known to have limited practical purpose.

Their huge distribution centre in Hedge End by the M27 is already deemed unsuitable for this purpose.

One drop per drone when fred bloggs next door is probably having something delivered by one of their own vans anyway makes if non cost effective.

[Mark_T]

TBH if I could order something and get it in 2 hours I would. Imagine the possibilities.

2 hour and even 1 hour delivery from Amazon is already a reality in the UK if you live in the right places...

This is just a bit of grandstanding to make a point and to keep the pressure on the legislation side of things...

[exiged]

For this to be an every day reality we would need to see a vast improvement in battery technology. I still can't believe im putting nearly 2kg worth of bricks in one of my helis for a 4.5 minute flight. This could actually help the hobby with a worldwide distributor like amazon taking an intrest.

[Grumpy]

I still can't believe im putting nearly 2kg worth of bricks in one of my helis for a 4.5 minute flight. This could actually help the hobby with a worldwide distributor like amazon taking an intrest.

There is no shortage of demand for better batteries. The electric power vehicle market among many others is pushing hard for better battery tech. The problem is actually coming up with a significantly better battery, it's easier said than done. Someone seems to announce some wonderful new battery tech every few months but most of the time it's just some researcher looking for funding, almost none of these developments have so far made it to market. There is a long running thread over on RCG about it: https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show...-battery-again

[Mark_T]

I still can't believe im putting nearly 2kg worth of bricks in one of my helis for a 4.5 minute flight.

No question that better power density would be good for us all, but once you get away from the world of 3D or racing, the numbers are already a lot better.

Current consumer camera drones are using less than 500g of battery weight for up to 30 min flights.

Better batteries = more payload and greater range though so obviously still very welcome.

[Granpappy]

No question that better power density would be good for us all, but once you get away from the world of 3D or racing, the numbers are already a lot better.

Current consumer camera drones are using less than 500g of battery weight for up to 30 min flights.

Better batteries = more payload and greater range though so obviously still very welcome.

Wish I could get 30 minutes. My M470 carrying gimbal and GoPro will do about 14 minutes before I'm down to 22 volts. I use Graphene 6S 8000mah batteries.

[Grumpy]

Mark,
Flight times claimed for many drones are vastly exaggerated, so take what the advertising says with a large pinch of salt.

[ChrisB]

This is true,you can now get a 60KWH electric car battery pack thats the same size as what was 30KWH for not much weight penalty and its being pushed more.

I think LG Chem are among the best producers of car batteries at present,the new 41kwh Zoe and 60kwh bolt/ampera use them,but much improved efficiency is also now playing its part too.



http://www.greencarreports.com/news/...cience-it-says

[Mark_T]

Mark,
Flight times claimed for many drones are vastly exaggerated, so take what the advertising says with a large pinch of salt.

Comment based on what I'm flying not just what I'm reading

[Grumpy]

Comment based on what I'm flying not just what I'm reading

Then maybe it's me that's at fault for believing what i'm reading!.. Which drone is giving you genuine 30 minute flights?