Walmart Applies To Test Drone Use For Delivery and Inventory Checking

An anonymous reader writes: Retailing giant Walmart has submitted an application to the Federal Aviation Administration requesting permission to run drone trials. The tests are to include not only home delivery — with the permission of residents within the 'flight path' — but also inventory-checking procedures at Walmart parking lots. It only costs $5 to make an application of this nature to the FAA, and until some hint of concrete legislation comes to light from the newly-formed UAS task force on November 20th, that's probably about as much as any company would want to spend on speculative drone-delivery research.

I knew it...

[NoNonAlphaCharsHere]

Walmart is Skynet.

Great

[anmre]

So now I get to worry about one of these things smacking me in the face while I'm cutting my grass? No thanks. Space is already at a premium in urban areas. I don't think Walmart should get to take up even more of it.

Re:Great

[EzInKy]

Thankfully, delivery trucks have well defined regulated lanes of travel to keep them off private property.

Re:

[EzInKy]

Never say never. Again thankfully, both criminal and civil penalties apply when they do stray. Additionally, few if any ground delivery vehicle owners argue for the right to violate others privacy and space. Drone proponents could learn a lesson from them.

Re:

[easyTree]

Ground-based delivery vehicles are also rarely used for airborne missile strikes within another country's sovereign territory - another feather in their cap - go delivery trucks!

Watch out for falling prices!

[ztexas]

And/or medium-sized drones carrying Velveeta and beer!

Re:

[Burz]

Max Headroom was not an exaggeration after all (the episode with junk falling from the sky).

Hint of concrete legislation from the task force?

[ScentCone]

No. Legislation comes from the legislature. The DoT's new regulatory efforts are not only NOT legislative (they are regulatory, from the administration running the executive branch), but they are talking about doing things that fly in the face of a law that WAS passed by the legislature. The DoT is talking about regulating classes of RC toys that congress explicitly ruled as off-limits from exactly that sort of action by the administration.

Re:

[fred911]

They don't have rules, the have suggestions for safe operation that they encourage people to follow.

https://www.faa.gov/uas/model_... [faa.gov]

Re:

[ScentCone]

The FAA has had rules for R/C Aircraft for decades.

This is factually incorrect. The FAA has had rules against interfering with aviation ... but that applies to everything and everyone (hot air balloons, ultralights, kites, RC models ... everything).

You used to need and FCC License too.

Increasingly academic, as many systems use freely available FX and levels of power (roughly like using WiFi). Long-range FPV operators STILL need FCC licensing, but of course most just blow that off.

DoT?

Department of Transportation

What Law did congress Pass and a President sign that covers this

The FAA Modernization And Reform Act of 2012.

Among other things, note section 33

Re:

[PolygamousRanchKid]

DoT?

Department of Transportation

In this case, since it involves RC stuff, I think DoT == Department of Toys . . .

Re:

[techno-vampire]

No. They're applying for permission to run a test, in public, of using drones for delivery and inventory checking, not for permanent permission to use them that way. The headline is quite specific about that as written.

Concrete application comes to light

[turkeydance]

until some hint of the FAA on November 20th. you can play, too.

Re:

[willworkforbeer]

Applying concrete is kind of an edge case for drones.

Now, applying crowd-controlling teargas, there's your growth market.

Lasers

[Anonymous Coward]

"... inventory-checking procedures at Walmart parking lots ..." (drone follows you in parking lot and says [in robot voice]) Did you just buy that, please show your receipt, return to store now, last warning, 3, 2, 1 [pew! pew!]

Re:

[Dog-Cow]

Probably the same dick your mother was sucking when she conceived you. We're still not sure how the semen ended up in her vagina.

Nothing to see here, move along

[rsilvergun]

Nope, no way automation is going to eliminate any jobs, and even if it were (which it's not) we can just lower pay to compensate and prices will fall until the lower pay has equal buying power, right?

Re:

[0123456]

Nope, no way automation is going to eliminate any jobs, and even if it were (which it's not) we can just lower pay to compensate and prices will fall until the lower pay has equal buying power, right?

You're right. It's not like we've been automating jobs away for a century or more, yet now have far more people employed than were back then.

Re:

[easyTree]

Amazon Drone-Delivery Customer Service Clerk: Woa, I see that Uncle Sam has ordered and paid for another air-strike for an unnamed nephew in Southern Oilistan!

Colleague: *Envy* Dude; I wish I had an uncle that generous.

Re:

[DriveDog]

Don't worry, if you live in Kentucky you now get to blast away at them.

Inventory Checking?

[DriveDog]

Meaning watching customers headed for their cars with presumably stolen merchandise? Counting the shopping carts? Spying on RVs they allow to park there for the night?

In related news ...

[PPH]

New section to be added to the People of Walmart [peopleofwalmart.com] web page : aerial reconnaissance photos.