You may start seeing more drones soaring through the air, and don’t worry; it’s not going to be from any secret spies trying to look into your home. These drones are going to start being sent out for deliveries from major companies like Amazon, Walmart, Google, UPS, FedEx, Uber & DHL.
Alphabet, Google’s parent company, has been experimenting with drone delivery as part of its Project Wing initiative, which aims to create a fleet of unmanned aircraft that can deliver food to medical supplies. Also, Walmart has been testing drones to deliver groceries and household essentials in select markets since 2015. On the other hand, UPS and FedEx have been trying out drone deliveries since 2016, using them to make deliveries to remote areas. Meanwhile, Uber has been testing drone deliveries as part of its Uber Eats food delivery service, with trials taking place in California.
Although it seems cool, you may not be too happy when you realize just how much noisier your neighborhood is about to get because of all of these drones in the air.
Why are companies opting for drone usage?
The main answer for this, as is the main answer for most things when it comes to big corporations, is money. Having drones deliver packages over delivery drivers will keep these companies from having to pay people. It could also potentially speed up the delivery process as they won’t have to deal with delivery trucks getting stuck in traffic and running behind schedule. However, these companies are not thinking far enough ahead and realizing all the downsides to having hundreds or even thousands of drones flying through the air at all times.
What are the downsides?
1. The noise factor
Where do I even begin? Let’s start with the noise factor. Drones are loud, and hundreds of them flying around your neighborhood at once will be unbearably loud. Even smaller drones are loud enough for people to hear, and bigger ones that will likely be used for commercial aviation will be much louder, especially if they use rotors to stay airborne. Combine that with traffic, construction, lawnmowers, and airplanes, and you can pretty much guarantee a very noisy neighborhood everywhere you go.
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2. Liability issue
Another thing is that this could be a massive liability issue for any company that tries it. Even the best technology malfunctions sometimes, and if one drone happens to crash and land on an actual person, an individual’s roof, a car windshield, or a school playground during recess, that company is going to have a massive lawsuit on its hands.
3. How will packages get dropped off?
There is also a question of how exactly these packages get dropped off. Those who have houses typically have their packages dropped at their doorstep, although what if you live in an apartment building in a busy city? We can’t have drones just drop packages off on the street or on the roof of the building.
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Final thoughts
There are so many things that companies like Amazon and Google need to figure out before they put these drone plans into action, and I just hope they do so before getting bit by the greedy bug.
What do you think of flying delivery drones and the noise factor associated with them? Are you willing to deal with the noise factor to benefit from the convenience of faster delivery times? Let us know by commenting below.
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