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(WSJ) Assuming drone developers overcome the plethora of challenges in the way of package delivery, from regulators to battery life, another question remains open: Where will the unmanned vehicles land?
Amazon is suggesting it has created a workable solution, but one that also puts the onus on customers.
In a video Amazon posted on its website over the weekend, a new drone prototype alights on a square placard bearing the company’s logo placed in a customer’s yard. After dropping a package on the landing pad, the drone ascends and the customer retrieves her package and the square.
That suggests the drone scans for the pad to distinguish where to land, so that the craft doesn’t drop on a pond, a dog or a slanted rooftop. But the video indicates the drones need more space than just a doorstop and possibly even a wide open backyard, free of trees, telephone wires or other obstacles.
And, under that system, Amazon would need to distribute the landing squares to customers – a potential added new expense — and rely on them to place them in a secure, flat place in time for a delivery. Pranksters may be tempted to put the landing pad on, say, the rooftop of a moving car.
Amazon might solve that dilemma with so-called sense-and-avoid technology that would help the drones automatically bypass certain objects via on-board sensors and software. Drone makers have been working for years to develop that technology in order to make the devices much safer to the general public. Regulators are also expected to require such technology in order to allow drones to deliver.
In urban areas where dwellings are clustered, Amazon may have to rely on centralized drop off locations, similar to the lockers found in 7-Elevens, according to people familiar with the matter.
Amazon’s promotional video for its new prototype suggested the device could spot a nearby hot-air balloon in flight. That capability is considered relatively basic because balloons are large and slow-moving. The real challenge for drone engineers has been to develop systems that can spot items such as power lines and fast-moving birds.
The Seattle online retailer hopes to deliver smaller packages within 30 minutes to customers using drones. Amazon has said it could eliminate some trucks on the road and ensure vital orders can be made when other delivery services cannot make such a guarantee.
The latest drone prototype incorporates a hybrid helicopter-airplane design that resembles a prototype that Google parent Alphabet Inc.GOOGL -1.20% has tested for delivery drones. The design enables the drone to hover and to take off and land vertically — some of the best qualities of helicopters — while gliding like an airplane. The new prototype can travel up to 15 miles, Amazon said. Drone engineers have said that range is likely longer than past prototypes.
The prototype also appears to carry cargo inside its body, rather than hanging below on its previous prototype. That shift is likely at least partly in reaction to proposed Federal Aviation Administration rules that would prohibit drones from carrying an “external load.”
While Amazon’s new prototype appears to be making headway on some of the more vexing technical challenges, it will still likely be years before drones are making regular deliveries, at least in the U.S.
The FAA is expected to finalize rules next year that would prohibit drones from flying beyond sight of an operator or over bystanders. The rules would also require one operator per drone. It’s unlikely that delivery drones would be commercially viable under such restrictions.
And with the expansion of one and two-hour delivery in many of the larger U.S. markets, it’s an open question whether customers will see the need to shave another 30 minutes off a delivery time.
