Very surprised at their choice of a quadcopter which has four very obvious single points of failure.
A hexacopter, or better still an octo with split flight controllers and power sources has some chance of recovering from a powertrain failure - an essential criteria for a multi-rotor designed to fly in or over populated areas, or indeed anywhere where the cost of the loss of the vehicle or payload is prohibitive.
(None of which of course solves the problem of how you safely land and secure the delivery at the target site, but it's table stakes.)
This is a hobby-drone cleverly positioned to senior execs looking for the new hotness without understanding the fundamental requirements for a practical solution.
I believe oneway drones are next so that the van doesn't have to stop moving. Then upgrade to a truck on a highway - just keep launching as the truck is maintaining 55-65 mph. Unit lands in your yard. When you get home, Remove your item, fold up the power unit, recycle the cardboard/plastic components and stick the reusable portion of the unit in your mailbox. Unit is self addressed and postage included to go back to the nearest facility.
Doesn't that turn the delivery problem into an exactly mirrored pickup problem? Getting the drones back would be about as much work as getting the package to you.
I don't see a good reason to make reusable systems 'disposable'. Especially as doing it that way means you need to carry one drone per package in the van!
I can see this being useful in various places if the landing question is sorted out, and I think the main one of those is the 'disaster' scenario. Plenty of rural situations would benefit too: you don't have to send a van up a narrow unpaved road, or on a circuitous route, just send a drone over the hills (can this handle non-LOS?) or across the fields. If roads are closed due to snow, you may be able to deliver from the main cleared road (assuming the weather has cleared up enough for the drone).
Some of the Scottish islands are within the one-way range of this drone from the mainland, which might be useful for mail deliveries. Rockets were once tried for this purpose: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocket_mail
Once the payload is delivered, the return trip is faster and less energy intensive (due to less weight). Why couldn't the drone just return to the same or even a different truck? I'd assume there is more than one truck per city.
One way drones would be step backwards. One way would create a different set of practical problems in managing a fleet. The solution is having a combination of an aircraft carrier and mid-air refueling.
Vans full of packages to be delivered are the aircraft carrier and vans that are empty or low on packages represent the mid-air refuel because they can swap out the battery/fuel. Drones don't have to return to same van, but the closest, or whatever optimization you are looking for.
Minimize the movement and energy required for heavier, more energy intensive components (the aircraft carrier) while making the most of the drones capabilities.
In most states you cannot legally drop anything other than water from a moving vehicle on public roads. Launching drones from a moving truck would be hazardous to other drivers and should never be allowed.
Interesting. Maybe a new type of mail box in the roof for houses (as you suggest), and some kind of Amazon Locker with a landing pad on top for the apartment complexes. Combining drones with a better mail box would allow the asynchronous delivery of packages.
They mention hard-to-reach location delivery. But it may be simply more efficient to deliver in a 'star' geometry with the van stationary and the drones dropping packages throughout a neighborhood. Save time; save on traffic and parking (park under a freeway, deliver to the business district).
What a weird combination. I understood Matternet's strategy while using drones for the good of humanity delivering HIV testing in faraway places. Partnering with Mercedes Benz to deliver "things to places" seems like it is competing with Amazon. Does Mercedes have or want a large African footprint? Do non-Amazon stores have enough of a desire to have speedy drone delivery of packages that this makes sense from a business standpoint? Is this news the product of a large MB investment that needs attention and proof of traction?
Mercedes and Matternet both have an interest in the efficient, cost-effective delivery of things. Matternet, for now, is concerned with the "last mile," (https://mttr.net/company), the aerial logistics part, and Mercedes is concerned with every other mile.
Amazon is a prospective client, they have the things people want.
They are being too timid in their thinking and designs. All they need is the driverless "engine cab" and then a transformer-like packing of drones to form the rest of the vehicle. It arrives in the neighborhood of delivery and then all the drones take off, deliver, they return, and reassemble into the driverless delivery truck.
[+] [-] scoot|9 years ago|reply
A hexacopter, or better still an octo with split flight controllers and power sources has some chance of recovering from a powertrain failure - an essential criteria for a multi-rotor designed to fly in or over populated areas, or indeed anywhere where the cost of the loss of the vehicle or payload is prohibitive.
(None of which of course solves the problem of how you safely land and secure the delivery at the target site, but it's table stakes.)
This is a hobby-drone cleverly positioned to senior execs looking for the new hotness without understanding the fundamental requirements for a practical solution.
[+] [-] BlickSilly|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] JoeAltmaier|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] pjc50|9 years ago|reply
I can see this being useful in various places if the landing question is sorted out, and I think the main one of those is the 'disaster' scenario. Plenty of rural situations would benefit too: you don't have to send a van up a narrow unpaved road, or on a circuitous route, just send a drone over the hills (can this handle non-LOS?) or across the fields. If roads are closed due to snow, you may be able to deliver from the main cleared road (assuming the weather has cleared up enough for the drone).
Some of the Scottish islands are within the one-way range of this drone from the mainland, which might be useful for mail deliveries. Rockets were once tried for this purpose: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocket_mail
[+] [-] sigmar|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] endswapper|9 years ago|reply
Vans full of packages to be delivered are the aircraft carrier and vans that are empty or low on packages represent the mid-air refuel because they can swap out the battery/fuel. Drones don't have to return to same van, but the closest, or whatever optimization you are looking for.
Minimize the movement and energy required for heavier, more energy intensive components (the aircraft carrier) while making the most of the drones capabilities.
[+] [-] nradov|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] chillingeffect|9 years ago|reply
Santa Claus-chute for things to slide down?
Helicopter landing pad in the front yard?
How can we sort the packages/letters into their individual receptacles?
This could save US mail carriers a lot of effort.
[+] [-] neodypsis|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] JoeAltmaier|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] god_bless_texas|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] endswapper|9 years ago|reply
Mercedes and Matternet both have an interest in the efficient, cost-effective delivery of things. Matternet, for now, is concerned with the "last mile," (https://mttr.net/company), the aerial logistics part, and Mercedes is concerned with every other mile.
Amazon is a prospective client, they have the things people want.
[+] [-] bsenftner|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] pjc50|9 years ago|reply