Are you interested in delivering food and drinks with your drone for cash?

[sar104]

I disagree. Extra legislation and exclusion zones to favour commercial drones being used for surveillance and other darker purposes yes, absolutely.

But this fantasy drone world where stuff gets delivered all over the place is just a joke. There are very few places where a courier on a bicycle can't beat a drone hands down in an A to B race, carrying more weight and at a tenth of the price. It's a gimmick, nothing more.

I agree with you on this one. One day, maybe, but not with the current technology - too inefficient and too dangerous.

 

[Lake_Flyer]

I disagree. Extra legislation and exclusion zones to favour commercial drones being used for surveillance and other darker purposes yes, absolutely.

But this fantasy drone world where stuff gets delivered all over the place is just a joke. There are very few places where a courier on a bicycle can't beat a drone hands down in an A to B race, carrying more weight and at a tenth of the price. It's a gimmick, nothing more.

Of course you disagree. I've never seen you agree with anything I say.
Be a bit less predictable next time.

 

[Ken Nash]

I've tried that. Pigeon faeces in your coffee isn't to be recommended.

I understand it cures erectile malfunctions for the better!

 

[Lake_Flyer]

But this fantasy drone world where stuff gets delivered all over the place is just a joke.

Of course, I never meant that the skies will be filled with drones delivering consumer stuff. Specially not low cost like coffee FCOL. More like crucial medical supplies (like a pint of blood, a living pumping heart, a kidney, anything live saving) between hospital hubs. Which is now done by car or helicopter, so drones will also bring down the number of heli flights over a city or ambulance trips through the streets.

Delivery between designated drone hubs, probably off loading to your bicycle boy if you will, for the final distribution to the door step, will be costly at first, and only used for compelling reasons. But many companies will endorse these services and will figure out a way to have their customers pay for the extra cost. It will be hip and green, so many people will accept that.

Skies over modern cities will be divided into a network of corridors for not only autonomous drones, but also for flying 'cars', taxies etc. The ground will become populated with mainly bicycles in all kinds of forms (electric mostly). Cars as we know them right now will be banned from cities, and maybe even all together. I hope not! I love my petrol guzzling (both 15 year old) Jaguar and Defender.

I wish I could deny it, denial is great and comfy. Many people swear by it. It keeps you feeling safe.
But I know it's coming sooner than we like to think.

 

[cornz]

Zing is an application I am working on that will be like the "Uber of Drones". Drone pilots will make a fixed amount for each delivery they make from places like Starbucks, Jimmy Johns, and Chipotle using their Mavic Pro drones. If you are interested please apply to join the drone pilot fleet at zingdrones.com

You will fail on your first delivery and unless you are willing to reimburse me if my quadcopter is damaged or lost then this is a non-starter.

 

[Thwyllo]

I agree with you on this one. One day, maybe, but not with the current technology - too inefficient and too dangerous.

Even then I'm just not convinced. It still really won't offer significant advantage, given the payload restrictions and the logistics of arriving and depositing its load and leaving safely again. I honestly think its only USP is and will be, that its a gimmick. So long as there are Deliveroo, Grubhub and all these other cheap and cheerful alternatives I just can't see the whole price/value add thing amounting much at all.

I can see it working within a very tight envelope as regards distance, height etc in city centres, but I predict that all these other, more pressing requirements like surveillance, news gathering and emergency services will legislate them - and us - out of the sky in many areas.

 

[JimmyHillsChin]

Complete crock. The Swiss one especially was hilarious. Assuming nobody was stupid enough to think these TRIALS ( yes that's all they were) had financial legs, they were just a PR stunt, nothing more. I mean seriously..flying a cup of coffee to land on top of a van so the driver can then deliver it?? You'd have to be a moron to invest even $1 in that.

You aren't too keen on this idea are you

 

[Thwyllo]

You aren't too keen on this idea are you

Kind of on the fence?...

 

[Asfwt]

If someone told me 20 years ago I would be holding a smart phone in my hand that can do what mine does I would have been skeptical , or for that matter my Mavic Air and all it can do. I believe the OP sees what’s coming and wants to be part of it. But I also agree the hobbits drones currently are not capable of providing that service. Definitely,drones are going to take over moving materials short distances in place of big environmentaly unfriendly trucks. Look at how the military has changed with drones. Our air force now has more UAVs in its fleet then maned ones. That change is also coming to the civilian side of society. But with it are going to be significant social adjustments as people don’t want to hear/see/be bother by drones constantly buzzing overhead. How long before people start shooting them out of the sky with paint ball guns. Drone delivery is coming a lot faster then we think. Should be introducing how it all works out.

 

[lmel2005]

Complete crock. The Swiss one especially was hilarious. Assuming nobody was stupid enough to think these TRIALS ( yes that's all they were) had financial legs, they were just a PR stunt, nothing more. I mean seriously..flying a cup of coffee to land on top of a van so the driver can then deliver it?? You'd have to be a moron to invest even $1 in that.

Don't know. I think that's the way everyone tests his ideas, and some of these ideas come true.

Maybe they're morons. If you say so, you know better.

If you lived in the first aviation tries era, I am sure that you would say that pioneers, who were falling from the air like stones, are morons too.

 

[aokusman]

A drone that can deliver a happy meal effectively would have to be heavy, big and expensive. Maybe in the distant future but not near future. Drone deliveries for fast food are a solution looking for problem.

 

[Former Member]

The government could easily make this happen if it were a government-run venture. They use their eminent domain policies to set up bus stops, train depots, airports, just to name a few to make your life easier. If a private Venture such as Amazon decided to deliver things in 4-5 minutes, they could buy or rent very small plots of land in numerous areas (much the same as cell phone companies do for their cell phone towers) and set up their landing pads there. They could procure hundreds of these sites for a fraction of the cost of operating a large supercenter like walmart.

For right now, if you want something in 4-5 minutes you have to run over to the local Superstore to get it. Instead of Amazon delivery service doing this, they could do it by drone which I think would be a lot cheaper than paying for a Brick and Mortar shop and hundreds of employees to run it.

Is anyone on the board old enough to remember The Jetsons? They had all kinds of drone deliveries. It might have been a cartoon but you never know what the future might bring. People are lazy and want things right away. Amazon is just adding fuel to the fire by promising 4 minute delivery.

Fortune favors the prepared mind.

 

[sar104]

Even then I'm just not convinced. It still really won't offer significant advantage, given the payload restrictions and the logistics of arriving and depositing its load and leaving safely again. I honestly think its only USP is and will be, that its a gimmick. So long as there are Deliveroo, Grubhub and all these other cheap and cheerful alternatives I just can't see the whole price/value add thing amounting much at all.

I can see it working within a very tight envelope as regards distance, height etc in city centres, but I predict that all these other, more pressing requirements like surveillance, news gathering and emergency services will legislate them - and us - out of the sky in many areas.

I'm leery of trying to predict too far into the future, but those are all valid points.

 

[mad monkey]

Wow. . Thought this got closed down already lol


With range limits what's the delivery radius? Why should someone pay for delivery of such a small item within a small radius? How do you plan on making money on delivery when real margins are in markup on products?

These are the questions to ask. If you had your own products to sell and were of a specialty variety then it could be possible. Also what assurance do I get as drone operator about the safety and responsibility of my drone? Unless you own the drone you're going to have problems.

If I worked for you using my drone, who covers repairs, damage, wear and tear.
I understand in current situation a pizza guy for example uses his own car and covers these costs, but that's why you use a beater car. Not possible with a drone. Also range is the problem

 

[GeorgeMavic]

Doing deliveries places you in a category called commercial use, which has a host of rules, limitations, and licences to consider - not to mention traffic controls.

 

[joekerjoe]

Already delivering cell phones to prisons. [emoji12]

 

[SaMavic]

Did this post die? For those that chuckled at the drone dog walking idea, here's more proof that its possible.

 

[Lapeer20m]

100% agree. This OP looks serious about it, but his website needs a little more panache and an info or "about us" page if he (she) is going to grow it.

OP, maybe you can share your background and experience, so that the naysayers will be able to see ways that you can navigate around the obstacles.

This is another good writeup of making money with your drone. #7 on this thread is relevant:

How to Make Money With A Drone: 10 Ways to Make Profit

At first glance the idea seems far fetched, but I think there is a possibility one could start such a service and operate now on a limited scale if they found the perfect setup.

Perhaps a coffee shop across from a tall apartment building with staggered outdoor terraces where it was realatively easy to set a sandwich or a coffee on the terrace 12 stories up. Maybe even have a special delivery platform attached to the outside of The terrace. It would likely require coordination with the building owner and lots of factors would have to align to make this work....but it seems possible and legal with existing framework. This model would be difficult to scale.

Every flight would be almost exactly the same, you could deliver the goods only when the terrace is not occupied, and it would be in vlos and flights of Short duration.

I’m pretty frugal but I would pay an extra couple bucks to get my coffee delivered to the terrace of my hotel room via drone.

 

[ianannase]

Hello everyone,

I will be starting a Kickstarter campaign for this project on Friday at 12:00 EST. If you are interested in being a part of it please enter your email address at Kickstarter –

Some of the rewards will include the brand new Mavic Pro 2 Zoom!

 

[eaglelooking]

IBM Has Patented a Coffee Delivery Drone that Knows When You're Tired

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