Make: magazine Volume 44 hit the newsstands on March 24 and this issue is all about DRONES! To hold you over till the issue is available to purchase, we’ve collected some fun drone related stories to share.
Besides aerial photography, one obvious use for drones (when regulatory concerns get ironed out) is for delivery services. Some of the concepts below look more realistic than others, but we may see some of these applications in near the future.
Beer Delivery
Growing up in Florida, ice fishing is a concept that still seems a little foreign to me. I suppose, though, that if you were on a tiny freezing trailer all by yourself you might want an “adult beverage.” Liquor would be more efficient weight-wise, but Lakemaid was supposedly delivering their beer to fishermen in early 2014. I’m skeptical about the drone’s ability to lift that much liquid, but that didn’t stop the FAA from shutting them down!
Matternet
Matternet is hoping to bring realistic drone delivery systems to the developing world, where delivering food and medicine could have a huge impact.
Pizza
In a crowded City like Mumbai, drone pizza delivery could be an excellent option to avoid traffic. One advantage that “Francesco Pizzeria,” the subject of this video, has is that their pies are quite thin by American Standards – nearly nonexistant if you are looking for a Chicago-style pie! A fun video, and a great option if you can’t get your maid to run downstairs and pick up a pizza for your penthouse apartment quickly enough!
First Aide
In an emergency, having access to a defibrillator quickly could be critical to a patient’s survival. The multirotor in the video carries a defibrillator at 100 kilometers per hour, which the video claims will reduce response times from 10 minutes for an ambulance, to 1 minute for the drone, increasing survival rates dramatically. This drone could also fit in under my previous “drone jobs” post since it could assist, though certainly not replace, EMT personnel.
Tacos
This taco delivery might seem a little pointless, and cargo compartment is simply a plastic bag. Unlike many of the concepts seen here, however, I’m certain it did actually happen. The author claims this to be the “first ever DJI Phantom2 fast food delivery.” Hey, why not? Maybe there were free tacos to be had for this stunt. For something a little more ambitious, there’s always TacoCopter.com; On the other hand, I’m not sure how well-developed their plans are at this point!
Amazon Items
Finally, this collection wouldn’t be complete without at least mentioning Amazon’s idea to deliver packages via drone, AKA “Amazon Prime Air.” This kind of delivery isn’t a reality yet, but who knows what will happen in the future. Especially since the FAA just granted a special experimental certificate. The box looks useful too, maybe it will be a freebie?
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