Amazon Expands Drone Deliveries, and Gets Noise Complaints. 'Like a Swarm of Bees' (chron.com) 21
"In August, Amazon announced it was expanding its airborne shipping to suburban areas in nearly 500 U.S. cities," reports the Chicago Sun-Times, "including the Chicago, Atlanta, Cleveland and Boise, Idaho, metro areas." And on Tuesday Amazon cut the ribbon on its new drone delivery center Tuesday 24 miles south of Chicago.
But Amazon's drones are already servicing parts of Texas, notes the Houston Chronicle. And north of Houston, Theresa Gibbons complains "It was kind of cool and fascinating at first, but now it is driving me crazy." Her home in the Bridgestone neighborhood is nestled right in the flight path of Amazon's drone service. Gibson said she hears roughly a dozen drones flying over her home each day. Noise pollution has become a frequent complaint in Texas neighborhoods where the service operates. Residents have compared the sound to everything from a massive beehive to a full-on air raid. "It does not sound like a [single] bumble bee. It sounds like a large swarm of bees at a much higher volume than a normal swarm of bees. And it's all day long," said Gibson.
Amazon's drone delivery service is currently operating in four Texas cities, including Houston, Waco, San Antonio and Richardson. The company announced major expansion plans in August, but growing complaints in pilot neighborhoods could foreshadow complications later down the line, with regions such as Harris County already taking legal action in response... So far, a group of fifteen states, plus Harris County, [Texas] have formed a coalition that has filed a petition in the US Court of Appeals challenging the Federal Aviation Administration's environmental review, citing that it failed to adequately address the effects of expanding drone deliveries.
And meanwhile near Boise, Idaho, local news station KTVB reports.... Less than two weeks after Amazon began delivering packages by drone in Nampa, the cities of Nampa and Meridian say they have received complaints over the noise and how often the drones fly... Amazon began Prime Air drone deliveries Oct. 30 from its East Franklin Road fulfillment center, making Nampa the company's first Idaho drone site...
How people feel about the drones depends on whom you ask. A Meridian man who has received drone deliveries says the noise doesn't bother him. Neighbors closest to the launch site say the drones fly from sunup to sundown and are disturbing their peace. Randy Nye, who has lived in Cherry Creek Estates for 17 years, compared it to living in a beehive. "It's just a constant presence," he said.... Nye, who works from home, said he and his neighbors who technically are just outside city limits had no idea this was coming. He said the city approved the drones in May, and they were never given written notice this was coming, despite living so close. He said they were shocked when deliveries started by drones just 12 days ago. Nye said he hopes something can change.
A few homes down, Kerri Wattier has started counting. On Wednesday with KTVB, she clicked a handheld counter each time a drone passed over her home. She started at 3:30 p.m. By 4:18 p.m., she had counted 39. "It sounds like lawnmowers and leaf blowers flying over our house," Wattier said.
"Amazon says it is evaluating changes, including adjusting flight paths," the article adds.
Ironically at that ribbon-cutting ceremony near Chicago, the speakers were occasionally drowned out by the roar of the drones, reports the Chicago Tribune, since they're "relatively loud when they are close to the ground." ("At the point of delivery they top out at 68 decibels," said Amazon economic development manager Sam Bailey, adding that "It's very brief exposure and it only occurs during daytime hours.")
But that site has been operational since October 12, and has "generally" hit its maximum capacity of 300 drone orders daily, Bailey told the Chicago Tribune, adding that scaling up is "something that we're always considering." And since October 12 they've already seen "thousands" of orders delivered by their 21 drones just across that 7.5-mile radius: Bailey said customers should clear the area when a drone delivery is incoming. The drones drop packages from about 12 feet. If the drone detects movement in the area, he said, the delivery will be canceled. "You want your kids inside the house," Bailey said. "We will not drop a package in an unsafe location. People who want to stand below and try to catch it, don't do that."
The Chicago Sun-Times points out that Walmart already offers some drone deliveries from over 75 stores across Arkansas, Florida, North Carolina, Georgia and Texas, and "earlier this year said it planned to expand drone delivery service to 150 more stores in partnership with Wing, a division of Google parent company Alphabet, giving it 270 drone delivery locations by 2027."
But Amazon's drones are already servicing parts of Texas, notes the Houston Chronicle. And north of Houston, Theresa Gibbons complains "It was kind of cool and fascinating at first, but now it is driving me crazy." Her home in the Bridgestone neighborhood is nestled right in the flight path of Amazon's drone service. Gibson said she hears roughly a dozen drones flying over her home each day. Noise pollution has become a frequent complaint in Texas neighborhoods where the service operates. Residents have compared the sound to everything from a massive beehive to a full-on air raid. "It does not sound like a [single] bumble bee. It sounds like a large swarm of bees at a much higher volume than a normal swarm of bees. And it's all day long," said Gibson.
Amazon's drone delivery service is currently operating in four Texas cities, including Houston, Waco, San Antonio and Richardson. The company announced major expansion plans in August, but growing complaints in pilot neighborhoods could foreshadow complications later down the line, with regions such as Harris County already taking legal action in response... So far, a group of fifteen states, plus Harris County, [Texas] have formed a coalition that has filed a petition in the US Court of Appeals challenging the Federal Aviation Administration's environmental review, citing that it failed to adequately address the effects of expanding drone deliveries.
And meanwhile near Boise, Idaho, local news station KTVB reports.... Less than two weeks after Amazon began delivering packages by drone in Nampa, the cities of Nampa and Meridian say they have received complaints over the noise and how often the drones fly... Amazon began Prime Air drone deliveries Oct. 30 from its East Franklin Road fulfillment center, making Nampa the company's first Idaho drone site...
How people feel about the drones depends on whom you ask. A Meridian man who has received drone deliveries says the noise doesn't bother him. Neighbors closest to the launch site say the drones fly from sunup to sundown and are disturbing their peace. Randy Nye, who has lived in Cherry Creek Estates for 17 years, compared it to living in a beehive. "It's just a constant presence," he said.... Nye, who works from home, said he and his neighbors who technically are just outside city limits had no idea this was coming. He said the city approved the drones in May, and they were never given written notice this was coming, despite living so close. He said they were shocked when deliveries started by drones just 12 days ago. Nye said he hopes something can change.
A few homes down, Kerri Wattier has started counting. On Wednesday with KTVB, she clicked a handheld counter each time a drone passed over her home. She started at 3:30 p.m. By 4:18 p.m., she had counted 39. "It sounds like lawnmowers and leaf blowers flying over our house," Wattier said.
"Amazon says it is evaluating changes, including adjusting flight paths," the article adds.
Ironically at that ribbon-cutting ceremony near Chicago, the speakers were occasionally drowned out by the roar of the drones, reports the Chicago Tribune, since they're "relatively loud when they are close to the ground." ("At the point of delivery they top out at 68 decibels," said Amazon economic development manager Sam Bailey, adding that "It's very brief exposure and it only occurs during daytime hours.")
But that site has been operational since October 12, and has "generally" hit its maximum capacity of 300 drone orders daily, Bailey told the Chicago Tribune, adding that scaling up is "something that we're always considering." And since October 12 they've already seen "thousands" of orders delivered by their 21 drones just across that 7.5-mile radius: Bailey said customers should clear the area when a drone delivery is incoming. The drones drop packages from about 12 feet. If the drone detects movement in the area, he said, the delivery will be canceled. "You want your kids inside the house," Bailey said. "We will not drop a package in an unsafe location. People who want to stand below and try to catch it, don't do that."
The Chicago Sun-Times points out that Walmart already offers some drone deliveries from over 75 stores across Arkansas, Florida, North Carolina, Georgia and Texas, and "earlier this year said it planned to expand drone delivery service to 150 more stores in partnership with Wing, a division of Google parent company Alphabet, giving it 270 drone delivery locations by 2027."
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In the USA it is illegal to 'shoot down' someone else's drone.
Also you can be sued by the drone owner/operator, by whoever is on the receiving end of falling debris, and by the various gvmt entities.
Answer to your question is Yes, you 'can' take a shot at the drone, but there will be consequences.
Re: Can you shot them? (Score:1)
In all places any intentional damage to someone else's property is a crime; shooting any weapon while committing the aforementioned crime makes it a more serious crime. In many places shooting a weapon in the vicinity of occupied buildings or across roadways or railways is also a felony unless done for the defense of life or property.
You don't get to shoot things out of the sky any more than you get to take a baseball bat to a Tesla. Cathartic as it may be to a certain type of person, jailtime is a likely c
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Let's hope rhey know where the Hams are who have all kinds of thin wire hung up in their trees.
And they stay out of their private airspace.
Re:Can you shot them? (Score:4, Interesting)
Let me answer your question with a question: If someone drives a car onto your lawn and does donuts, can you legally shoot into the car?
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Altitude needs to increase (Score:2)
With the Zipline P2 type design they could fly a lot higher, if FAA allowed it.
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The zipline thing seems neato, although it does have its down side, wind. Drones are great in wind, especially copters.
I'll just leave this here also since it's convenient:
"Residents have compared the sound to everything from a massive beehive to a full-on air raid."
Heh heh "air raid" people are nuts. Maybe one will burn up on top of a propane tank, though, and then it will be closer.
Bees or delivery vans (Score:1)
You know...I'll take a quick buzz here and there over the intermittent pleasure of a delivery van backing in and out of my driveway or constantly ducking in and out of my neighbors' driveways while my kids are riding their bikes.
There is no nirvana. There are different kinds of nuisance that different people have varying tolerance for.
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Yes we gotta have our cheap imported goods fix every day. Several times a day. Maybe it's a plot by China to have us dispose of all their waste in our landfills.
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But we ship out our electronics to be landfilled in other countries.
Re: Bees or delivery vans (Score:3)
Well, drones can fail too and careen into a baby stroller at high speed. Do you want possible unguided missiles around kids?
To avoid delivery drivers pulling in, I suggest;
- Put a highly visible gate or chain across your driveway,
- install a delivery box or platform
- post a clean, easy-to-read sign at the end of the driveway stating: "Private Drive â" No Delivery Vehicles Beyond This Point. Please Leave Packages at Street/Gate/Delivery box"
- update your delivery instructions
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You know...I'll take a quick buzz here and there over the intermittent pleasure of a delivery van backing in and out of my driveway or constantly ducking in and out of my neighbors' driveways while my kids are riding their bikes.
There is no nirvana. There are different kinds of nuisance that different people have varying tolerance for.
Did you even read TFS?
A few homes down, Kerri Wattier has started counting. On Wednesday with KTVB, she clicked a handheld counter each time a drone passed over her home. She started at 3:30 p.m. By 4:18 p.m., she had counted 39. "It sounds like lawnmowers and leaf blowers flying over our house," Wattier said.
Does an average of almost one drone per minute for three-quarters of an hour really strike you as "a quick buzz here and there"?
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I'd rather have a delivery van driving around than my neighbors driving to the store each on their own.
What Altitude? (Score:4, Interesting)
What altitude do the drones overfly private property? Under U.S. vs. Causby you have a claim against Amazon if the drone altitude is less than 300 feet above the tallest object. They can fly lower over government land, but not yours.
a better question (Score:3)
do they have still a problem with me flying my own drones over their logistics hubs and offices?
about the drones (Score:2)
Here's some info from the FAA about the drones and some testing that was done on them.
"The MK30 drone operates outbound and inbound en route overflights at the typical operating altitude of 200 and 345 feet AGL, respectively, for operations associated with deliveries to other locations. The outbound en route altitude is expected to be flown between 180 and 279 feet AGL. The inbound en route altitude is expected to be between 279 and 377 feet"
https://www.faa.gov/uas/advanc... [faa.gov]
I asked Perplexity if this would