Alibaba Tests Drone Delivery Service In China 66
An anonymous reader writes: Following the lead of online retail giant Amazon, Chinese e-commerce group Alibaba has today tested its first drone delivery service. Asia's largest e-retailer promises to deliver ginger tea within an hour to customers across its flagship consumer-to-consumer marketplace Taobao, which holds an estimated 90 per cent market share in the country. The remote-controlled black and silver drones are helicopter-like in design and carry a white box containing the product. For now the service is limited to a three-day test in three of China's largest mega-cities, Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, and confined to just one tea brand from one merchant. The trial will be applied up to a limit of 450 tea deliveries.
Wasteful, Inefficient, Potentially Dangerous... (Score:4, Insightful)
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I guess I don't understand using this technology for delivering local items. Maybe their just in a shake out phase of testing. I can see that this might be huge for delivering things to areas that don't have good road systems where driving a truck over terrain that may cause it to break down might be considered wasteful.
"Critical medical supplies" comes to mind.
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What are you talking about - 15 minutes? They actually give an example delivery in TFA that they plan to make and it's nearly an hour. More to the point, there's simply no way that an as-the-crow-flies drone is going to be moving anywhere even comparable to walking speeds. Realistically you're talking an order of magnitude higher.
And seriously, probably half the things I order are light enough to fit into a midsize delivery drone. Or even a little drone - the last thing I purchased online was a cell phone p
...and, easy to rob from !!! (Score:2)
I mean, hell...you can hardly let UPS/FedEx leave a package on your doorsteps these days in many cities without some fucker coming to steal it.
Just get a nice rifle with a scope along the travel routes of the delivery drones that is a bit remote, *BANG*..down it comes and then loot whatever its carrying.
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If you think it would be that easy, and would actually have enough of a payoff to be worthwhile to the point where it would become commonplace, then you really haven't thought it through at all.
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A quadcopter with a detachable tail won't have the disadvantage of a spent round going through someone's window and will probably bring it down in good enough condition that it could be resold once you disentangled the tail from the rotors. A lot more fun too.
Re:Wasteful, Inefficient, Potentially Dangerous... (Score:4, Informative)
Looks like a standard quadcopter to me. That means it will have a pretty limited flight time and even less once you add weight and some wind. Standard is around 10 minutes. So that is 5 minutes distance in flight.
Off the shelf quadcopters can have multi-kilometer ranges. Not the logistical equivalent of cargo ships, but they're capable in "last mile" scenarios.
Add to that the time you need to change the batteries and add the load and you are easily at 15 minutes for a 5 minute flight.
So just mount multiple drones and allow some to work while the others are charging? You're also free to construct drone waypoints for longer range operations, cargo exchanges in the event of malfunctions, etc.
Add some maintenance/setting up to that and you get to 20.
You think commercial drones require five minutes of maintenance for every 10 minutes of flight?!
Re:Wasteful, Inefficient, Potentially Dangerous... (Score:4, Insightful)
I'm just the opposite, I don't understand how this would be good for delivering things to remove, inaccessible areas. They're short-range aircraft, and even if they weren't, you wouldn't want to monopolize an expensive piece of hardware doing one-by-one package deliveries to remote areas, tying it up for an hour or two per package. Here it's short quick hops, then back to charge and be ready to be quickly launched again.
As for the need, it's the same reason as why people choose short delivery periods today. Maybe it's a broken part on your factory line that's costing you a ten thousand dollars an hour. Maybe you're leaving on a trip in an hour and you forgot to pick up something you're going to need. Maybe you're a hospital and speedy delivery could save a patient's life. Maybe you're about to give a presentation at a conference and you discover you need something. Maybe you ran out of petrol and you could really use a couple liters. Maybe you're holding a party and discover you've run of / forgot to pick up some essential item. There's countless reasons why a person may need objects under a couple kilograms delivered quickly - let alone why they may just simply want something quickly (the whole "dammit, I want to be playing around with that new purchase *now*!" attitude)
Beyond speed, if drone delivery takes off (pardon the pun), it could potentially (must stress "potentially") reduce costs for delivery services as well. Ultimately you could completely take humans out of the equation. You're running off of electricity. You need a lot more delivery drones than trucks, but they're also going to be a lot cheaper. Quicker deliveries mean reduced inventory management. Etc. So there's a possibility that it might in the long run prove cheaper. Trucks could increasingly be just for heavy stuff, or paired with drones (aka, the concept of having the truck drive through the general area and drones deliver to the final destination within a few kilometers of the truck as it goes, then returning to its new position, so that the truck doesn't have to weave into every little side street).
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Doesn't using a truck to deliver a one or two pound package seem like a bit of overkill to you? For lightweight package deliveries, a drone actually makes a lot more sense than a truck if you think about it, which is fuel-inefficient and contributes to ground-traffic issues. It's just that we're still not used to the technology. In another decade, there will probably be drones buzzing around in the air above us all the time, and we won't think twice about it, just like we don't gape in awe at airliners t
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Stealing a valuable object with a GPS and camera in it for laughs? I hope you find jail funny.
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I'd steal the drone, just for laughs. Maybe return it by mail with photos of the drone doing things, like hanging on a beach, having a drink, partying with girl robots etc.
In accordance to the EULA you agreed to, we will now be charging your credit card on file a fee of $2500 for the hardware. Have a Nice Day.
Laugh it up. Chances are you will agree to something like this to use this kind of service.
Of course, the alternative to fines would be facing legal charges and/or jail time for interfering with corporate delivery services. They'll likely make those charges a felony too, since everyone seems to be focused on the delivery of legal controlled substances with this serv
Re:Wasteful, Inefficient, Potentially Dangerous... (Score:4, Interesting)
Why is using a 5 kg drone more wasteful and inefficient than using a two tonne truck?
The truck will be more cost effective for routine, non-urgent, bulk deliveries.
But the drone will be better for urgent deliveries of small items.
more efficient than bicycle messages or cars (Score:2)
Any guess as to why 450 tea deliveries? (Score:2)
I'm always fascinated by the details which seem somewhat abstract (i.e. 450 in 3 days in 3 cities with 90% market share). Is it numerological or statistical in its significance to the Chinese? Oh, I can make up a million wrong reasons why, but I though maybe someone might know...
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Oh, they're going with a metric number of deliveries. Now that makes sense.
China (Score:1)
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Yummy neurotoxins in their shrimp and fish, melamine in their infant formula, firewalled global internet, and censored bloggers. Before the Pure Food and Drug Act in the US it was common for bakeries to add sawdust to bread, and then there's the great killing fogs of industrial england.
freedom from regulation isn't freedom in all cases.
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How long does the copter wait before taking off again?
It doesn't land. It hovers and drops the package.
Does it or somebody notify her that its waiting outside?
The customer will receive a text message with the time and location of the drop, which they must acknowledge before the drone launches.
How can they be so trusting to land it in that location without visual?
The drone has cameras. The takeoff and mid-flight can be automated, but the drop will be monitored by a human.
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It should drop the package from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.
It is pathetic that this is being done in china... (Score:2)
... first. We came up with the idea and our people tried to do it. But yet again... fucking government.
I'd almost prefer if our government were more corrupt so we could at least bribe them to be less stupid.
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Google has been trying... they went from sending almost nothing to washington to basically sending them all money.
Regardless, I wasn't talking about congressman. I was talking about lower level bureaucrats. You see it in a lot of countries. You get pulled over for speeding or whatever and you can make it go away by slipping the officer a reasonable bribe. Sometimes all it takes is 10 bucks. Sometimes they want more.
If the government isn't going to be rational on the subject then they need to be subverted in
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Then remove all cars from the streets.
Nothing is without risk. As to liability, if I crash my drone into your house then I am liable for that with or without regulation. So I really don't see what the fuck you think you're talking about.
One of the businesses the FAA shut down was a guy that took pictures of houses for real estate companies. You'd pay him a fee and he'd show up with his drone. Fly the drone around the property a few times taking video and pictures. And then give the realtor a copy of the pic
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Everyone was already held accountable.
If I take a ball and throw it through your window.
I am held accountable.
Did you issue me a license to own a ball or throw it? No.
So why do you need to regulate it for people to be held accountable?
If I have a drone and that drone falls out of the sky and breaks a skylight or something... then obviously I am liable for damages. Nothing needs to be passed in law to make me liable for damage I cause with a drone I own.
The licensing system is expressly there to prevent peop
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I don't want to live on this planet anymore. Idiots are going to start regulating when I am allowed to take piss in my own home soon...
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No, that wasn't the issue. The issue was the drone. ATF didn't complain. It was the FAA.
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No, it isn't behind the technology curve. They weren't regulating remote controlled airplanes. I could fly a little remote controlled airplane and do all this stuff and the FAA wouldn't have said anything.
What is the difference? What they're doing is trying to regulate something that previously no one cared about. And really they have no reason to regulate it beyond what is already on the books.
Here is what needs to be established:
1. Stay away from controlled airspace such as airports.
2. Stay below 500 or s
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Fuck yeah! Ponies!
human vs drone (Score:2)
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Intracity deliveries in China usually costs around 8RMB (the exact type of deliveries that the drones are trying to replace in this case), which is around 1.20USD.
Meanwhile it is estimated that cost of drone deliveries costs around 20~70 cents for a 10km trip [technologyreview.com].
Though it should be noted that the 8RMB includes the margins for the delivery company, while the drone delivery cost doesn't include such margin. Thus, I think it is likely to be economical to deliver with drones even in China.
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I wonder how this will work in practice. Currently packages either get delivered right to my apartment's door step or dropped off at the guard house, which seemingly every slightly better apartment block in China has. The guards will probably get ticked off if they have to leave their cubicle all the time - most of them seem to just sit in there all day and smoke. And for me as spoiled customer I'd also rather have a dude schlepp everything right to my doorstep on floor 23.
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nobody uses trucks. all the delivery guys seem to have scooters. You won't see a UPS truck in China.
What happens is that the guy drives right up to your office building in downtown Shanghai, emptying a huge bag of parcels on the floor and rummage for the ones to deliver in your building - usually right in the lobby, or outside. He then either drags the sack with the remaining parcels with him or leaves it with the security guards.
There's gazillions of scooter delivery guys in Shanghai. They deliver it all.
I love Alibaba/Aliexpress (Score:1)
Let me just say that I love Alibaba/Aliexpress. Finally the playing field is leveled and consumers can get products DIRECTLY from the manufacturer without paying a ridiculous markup.
I can get shirts for $9 that retail in the West for $70. People call them "fakes" but the reality is that THEY ARE MADE IN THE SAME FACTORY that is making the "real" products. They simply run the assembly line after hours.
I also know people get angry at this, but I don't understand why. YOU the consumer is benefiting from this.
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I've often found products there that I've had interest in but have never purchased. Because quite simply, I have no way to know how much I can trust them. How am I supposed to make a judgement call about the legitimacy of a random company in China that I know nothing about?
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How can one find reputable intermediaries?
Bonus item! (Score:1)
This is awesome! Order some tea and get one (1) FREE DRONE!!!