Seems also that with someone as sharp as Bezos that this would not be unveiled at all until ready for implementation.
I think its just a "hey look at us" PR moment that will ultimately go nowhere.
--oh, yeah...nice timing on the piece on the eve of Black Monday...what better way to get the Amazon name splashed everywhere than having Buck Rodgers as your spokesperson?

 

Terminal velocity is what this is called, it is determined by the combination of acceleration from gravity versus the drag created by the flying object, and there is a lot of drag around square shapes such as a cardboard box. If this is a concern, and I suppose faulty boxes or grippers could allow it to happen, the weight limit on the box or even the shape of the box itself could be adjusted to limit terminal velocity to something no worse than a bird falling out of the sky or what have you. The latter may still be unacceptable, especially if the machines want to operate over high density population. There could also be a tether added to the box.

Actually, safety acceptance is not usually based so much on how bad things go if the machine crashes, witness the results of various airplane crashes we have in the world every so often. Rather it is based on probability of the event happening at all. So if Amazon can show these machines have (make up a number) one in thirty million chance of failing, they will be able to establish reasonable safety. These octocopters have a high redundency factor built in anyway, and I bet it is easy to show the chances of catastrophic failure are quite low as it stands.

I think they are a great idea and should be expedited (pardon the pun) by the FAA. They will save a lot of gas, car travel and road congestion, make returns easier, on and on. There is not much of a downside the way see it. Altitudes and routes can be managed to insure safety around airports and other aircraft operating zones.

 

Build fulfilment center.
Man fulfilment center.
Move parcel to fulfilment center.
Program drone. File flight plan.
Load drone. Monitor drone.
Return drone.
Recharge/refuel drone.
Maintain drone.

Free advertising -Priceless

While much of this can be automated...ain't worth it...but good hype and free press...

 

Why not worth it? In theory this machine is cheaper or they wouldn't be pushing it. So shipping rates could be less, roads will be somewhat less populated by delivery trucks, less road wear and (much) less fuel demand, quadracopter fleet can be almost completely automated, no flight plans or hands-on work required, efficiency can increase if changing shifts of van drivers and van fleets are taken out of the equation,and delivery is possible 24/7 and during snow emergencies and so on. I suppose the downside is the fuss in getting it regulated and the cost to the labor force in terms of lost jobs. In general however, technology taken as a whole is a GDP (gross domestic product) increaser so it boosts the overall yield for a given amount of capital investment and we all win when that happens. Countries that adopt advanced technology tend to lead the world in terms of GDP.

 

Full service Octocopter

 

FedEx predicts records ALL TIME high shipments tonight. More than 11 million packages (that's 126/sec).

That's a LOT of plastic octocopters

 

I had 215,000 pounds of freight from CDG to MEM the the other night! Wow, most I've ever seen, I thought the 184,000 pounds from CAN to CGN was a lot!! This should be a good season for us at FedEx!! Bright future IMO even with the talk of theses drones! The drone thing won't be viable until it's able to carry many more lbs and many more objects at once and then hit multiple targets in one sortie. Then we're talking about a machine that's about the size of a ATV I would bet, and that will have to be fool proof and completely redundant.

 

I know ALPA is working with the FAA on US drone policy. They need to make sure that they are only flown by certified pilots. More importantly, they should work toward a new level of Class 1 medical for those over age 65 or over 40 BMI with "Drone Only" as an exception. This could definitely be a win-win.

 

If thier new prime air resembles thier newly created ground delivery called lasership I wouldn't be to worried about it.

 

He is doing this for publicity no way this is a viable means of transporting goods in the near future. How is it going to fly to a house and put a package on the porch etc or is the plan just to release it from the UAV like a bomb? Going to take one fast UAV to deliver to another city in the same state much less another state all together. Also, think about the number of UAVs required vrs a truck to carry the same amount of packages.