Amazon’s AI Drones Are Not a Technology We Need | FT

Final paragraphs from a drone delivery reality check

"Then there is the difficulty of navigating urban areas, where restrictions on drones are especially strict. Pity those living next door to compulsive e-shoppers, who can expect the whirr of little rotors throughout the day. Anti-drone warfare by air gun, paintball and slingshot is highly likely. Getting drones to figure out where to place their load in built-up environments will be a struggle, too. Their only saving grace is that robots may be marginally less tempted to toss fragile deliveries on to the doorstep than humans.

There might be one way to make delivery drones safer for urban environments. They could simply carry their packages along predefined and controlled flight paths to designated repositories, perhaps in the centre of towns and villages. If the load is light enough, it could be delivered by an employee, or customers themselves could pick it up. In many places, such repositories already exist. We call them post offices."

Amazon’s AI Drones Are Not a Technology We Need | FT