DailyDirt: Speedy Deliveries Coming Via Robots

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

The FAA hasn't exactly been quick to figure out how its going to regulate drones, and its current rules are a bit of an arbitrary mess of trying to determine what "commercial use" really means and how to register pilots and/or the UAVs they fly. Still, plenty of projects are moving forward with plans to use (semi-)autonomous robots to deliver packages more efficiently and quickly.

• Google's (ok, Alphabet's) Project Wing expects to be a commercial business by 2017 -- delivering packages with low-flying drones. It's still uncertain how these UAVs will get FAA approval by 2017, but if everything goes smoothly (cough!), there could be a low altitude "Class G" airspace specifically for drones in a year or so. [url]
• Starship Technologies, despite its name, is planning to use a 6-wheeled robot on the ground to deliver groceries -- instead of any kind of flying contraption. This robot will be able to haul around 20 pounds of cargo at 4 mph with a range of about 4 miles. That's not exactly impressive, but it doesn't need to worry about flying into anything or getting shot out of the sky. [url]
• Tacocopters are feasible. It's not a matter of technology. All sorts of things can be delivered by multicopters -- mail, ice cream, drink orders -- it's just a matter of how much it's worth it to you to do it (FAA approval, the cost of equipment, logistics, etc). [url]

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Filed Under: class g airspace, commercial use, drones, faa, multicopter, robotics, robots, tacocopter, uav
Companies: alphabet, google, starship technologies