From what height would these drones drop their packages? If it was from six feet or more, that would harm any fragile contents. But if they gently place them on the ground, their rotors have the potential to hurt humans. How would they guard against that? And how much would an injured person be able to sue Amazon for? It's not as if Amazon doesn't have deep enough pockets to attract the attention of a lawyer or two.
There have already been several cases of people injured by drones.
This Australian triathlete was injured when photographer's drone crashed next to her mid-race.
Singer Enrique Iglesias' hand was injured by a drone during a concert in Tijuana.
A number of people were received minor injuries from a low-flying drone at the Virginia Motorsports Park during the Great Bull Run (a local version of Pamplona).
So far none of the injuries have been serious. But take a look at this drone race and ask yourself if these objects couldn't cause serious injuries. They sound like huge mosquitoes, and look like malevolent flying spiders. But with those spinning rotors, they're really just flying knives.
As anybody who's ever had a model airplane can attest, control of a remote flying object is often far from perfect. Here's a compilation of crashes, if any proof of that is needed.
What happens the first time a drone get sucked into a jet engine and causes an airplane crash? A near miss occurred just eight weeks ago above New York City. Passengers are unlikely to take kindly to the idea of their plane dropping out of the sky because some photographer wanted an aerial shot.
And what about terrorists? How convenient would it be for them to deliver a small bomb to, say, Times Square on a Sunday afternoon? Or to a football stadium? Or to an outdoor concert? This wouldn't even require their presence. (And wouldn't the terrorists see this as poetic justice, given the number of deaths we have inflicted upon them via drone?)
These things will probably wreak all sorts of havoc in the near future.
Update: This article on the threat from drones just appeared on 7/25 in the Post.
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11 comments:
The drone could hover high overhead and spool out a string tied to the package. The drone cuts the string after the package has gently reached the ground. The hard part is ringing the doorbell.
Mark --
Is that actually their plan?
And yes, ha.
Amazon should think twice about delivering packages using drones. There's too much risk involved.
- Susan
Susan --
There's evidently a possibility that the FAA nixes the idea.
I was just blue-skying the idea. I don't know how Amazon actually intends to implement a safe drone delivery service.
Last week in Southern California the sighting of rubber-necking drones overhead delayed water-dousing helicopters from fighting a wildfire that had swept over a major highway and ignited several vehicles.
Mark --
Aha, wasn't sure if you were joking in your first two sentences.
Wow, I hope they fine the owners of those drones, which I guess were probably news services.
Maybe this is the beginning of "I, Robot." Or even "The Terminator." (j/k)
I was at Best Buy today buying a laptop for my son. What did I see on a shelf in this store - drones! I was surprised to see these things in the store. I wouldn't buy one because they can cause some serious harm to people, especially if you don't know how to operate a drone. I'm too old fashioned, I guess.
-birdie
Birdie --
I'm surprised they're that freely available. There ought to be some sort of training or something required before people use them.
I literally couldn't believe what I was seeing. There were two or three different boxes containing drones (on a shelf that was within arm's reach). I thought to myself, "why would anyone need a drone?". If you're an owner, you're darned right you should have training in it's usage.
-birdie
Birdie --
I wonder if there's a built in mechanism that keeps them from flying too high (and posing a hazard to aircraft).
I don't know how high drones can reach. My concern is that drones could collide with people, wildlife, electrical lines, airplanes, automobiles, buildings, etc., causing some serious damage.
-birdie
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