Drone Delivery Was Supposed to be the Future. What Went Wrong?
Why Hacker News recommends it
It is the standard answer when someone asks what happened to drone delivery.
What it is
Wendover Productions explains why drone delivery has not become the future once promised. It covers no-fly zones, costs and the difficulty of the final drop-off.
Recommended by 4 HN commenters across 4 different months, 2022 to 2023.
What Hacker News said
Strong rec CSMastermind · 2023-07 · on “Ask HN: What ever happened to the “coming wave” of delivery drones?”
I think that Wendover has the best summary: [this video] Here's the tl;dr: The "last foot" problem is the biggest killer. Getting a drone into the air and to its target is not the hard problem - getting a package safely to the ground at someone's home is. It would require either a very specific neighborhood or a big advance in computer vision and AI tech. Where we have seen success in this space are places with dedicated delivery zones in controlled environments where existing transport infrastructure is not a good alternative. Also this quote: "most people are simply willing to wait two or three days to receive their package while ALL customers wants their packages delivered as cheaply and simpl
Recommends ketzu · 2022-04 · on “Drones have transformed blood delivery in Rwanda”
They also have a more recent video on general drone delivery: [this video] It was really interesting to watch. General idea discusses the problems it faced in the US in seemingly optimal circumstances (airspace restrictions, density, existing delivery networks) and how it does live and help out in other places, highlighting zipline as an example.
Recommends coppolaemilio · 2022-08 · on “Ask HN: What happened to drone delivery service?”
This mini-documentary explains it pretty well: [this video] TL;DW: No-fly zones, costs, and drones not being intelligent enough to detect where they are going to drop off packages. It is cheaper and easier to do the last mile via traditional methods than dealing with all the risks and limitations of flying.
Recommends tim333 · 2023-09 · on “FAA Authorizes Zipline to Deliver Commercial Packages Using Drones”
There's quite a good video on "Drone Delivery Was Supposed to be the Future. What Went Wrong?". It's been a decade since Bezos launched drone deliveries but it hasn't taken off for a number or reasons including air traffic control around airports, people living in flats and the difficulties of getting a drone to find a safe spot. On the other hand Uber Eats type guys on ebikes have proved a practical solution. [this video]
Cites NeoTar · 2023-03 · on “German monks create first powdered beer”
It makes it more efficient for delivery by most things. Drone delivery is a mostly-bad or niche idea: [this video]