It'll never fully replace delivery drivers. But 70% of homes can easily have packages or pizza delivered by a drone or driverless car. That's a huge number.

They'll figure out which 70% it is and map them out just like USPS and FedEx do. In fact I'd think those companies' existing databases would give them a huge head start if they want to get into the drone delivery business.

(06-19-2019 01:32 PM)Kronke Wrote:  

(06-19-2019 12:42 PM)TigerBlue4Ever Wrote:  I am a little confused about how the package changes hands as it were.

I'd imagine you get a notification when it arrives, and go out to the parking lot and interact with what is essentially a vending machine.

That’s about it.

My sons campus has little R2D2 hot boxes that run by GPS, you get a code,a PIN # in essence on your phone when it arrives.

You punch that in, it unlocks the lid, you reach in and grab your grub.

It’s had a few glitches, uneven sidewalks jolting them, people not paying attention tripping over them/running into them. Weather etc., but as a pilot program seems to mostly work.

Course that’s a contained, contiguous area, but that would be true for an awful lot of areas too

(06-19-2019 03:29 PM)EverRespect Wrote:  

(06-19-2019 01:42 PM)Kronke Wrote:  

(06-19-2019 01:37 PM)umbluegray Wrote:  

(06-19-2019 01:32 PM)Kronke Wrote:  

(06-19-2019 12:42 PM)TigerBlue4Ever Wrote:  I am a little confused about how the package changes hands as it were.

I'd imagine you get a notification when it arrives, and go out to the parking lot and interact with what is essentially a vending machine.

Probably.

The elderly and disabled may not be able to go to the parking lot, though.

There will also be those who do not have cell phones to receive said notification. Dominoes will gladly forgo those sales if nuro can just beat their cost of labor.

Yang has it right, we're entering the 4th industrial revolution. It's going to be ugly.

Nuro can't beat the cost. Delivery drivers make minimum wage plus tips. Dominoes doesn't even pay for their transportation. There isn't a snowball's chance this provides a better service at a lower price. I'm sure they stole a bunch of investors money and will keep going until they spend it all (on operating losses and their own bonuses), but this isn't sustainable. A single driverless vehicle will cost about 10x more than an entire city's worth of drivers.

I don’t think they even make minimum wage. Pretty sure it’s still the standard $2.10 an hour + tips.

Same as a waiter or bartender etc. some places do kick in for some gas via the added $1-2 delivery fee, but that also tends to trim some tips, so it’s often not preferred by some places.

(06-20-2019 08:13 AM)TigerBlue4Ever Wrote:  

(06-19-2019 01:32 PM)Kronke Wrote:  

(06-19-2019 12:42 PM)TigerBlue4Ever Wrote:  I am a little confused about how the package changes hands as it were.

I'd imagine you get a notification when it arrives, and go out to the parking lot and interact with what is essentially a vending machine.

How does the vending machine assure it's getting into the right hands? I'm sure these companies have hashed out the details but...

I agree with you that applications like these may be taking away opportunities for teens and other low skilled workers.

The drone has a locked door that only the customer can open with a code provided by the vendor.

(06-20-2019 10:56 AM)Captain Bearcat Wrote:  It'll never fully replace delivery drivers. But 70% of homes can easily have packages or pizza delivered by a drone or driverless car. That's a huge number.

They'll figure out which 70% it is and map them out just like USPS and FedEx do. In fact I'd think those companies' existing databases would give them a huge head start if they want to get into the drone delivery business.

You, sir, are actually closer to the real endgame than the other posters. This isn’t about pizza delivery any more than the Tesla truck is about reducing commercial vehicle emissions. Essentially, autonomy is seen as the next frontier in high tech, and eliminating high paying jobs that don’t require a college degree seems to be the target. Specific to the delivery business is the city driver. These guys make $80,000+ a year delivering to local businesses. It doesn’t matter if delivering a pizza via drone is expensive if the real goal is to replace a highly paid city driver and his expensive rig with a fistful of drones.

Those trucks deliver everywhere: even your local barber/salon routinely gets deliveries. Your dentist, accountant, banker...all delivered in an expensive tractor trailer driven by a highly paid professional driver.

These companies are betting they can get customers on board through enhanced service (why order in bulk and wait when a drone can deliver a basketful just as cheaply and even quicker than “next day”?). They are betting they can get insurance companies on board through reducing personal liabilities (a small self driving drone should be less dangerous than a big ol’ Truck, right?). They are betting they can get government on board through reducing infrastructure costs (why build downtown truck routes for a job a drone can do?).

The ultimate arbiter will be the consumer, which is why these companies are trying so hard to sell you on pizza and at home delivery now. If consumers aren’t willing to buy in at home, they won’t be willing to buy in at work.

I've actually used this in Houston.

The car drives to your house and you unload the groceries, which are in sort of a 'locker' (so they can carry more than one load)

Far more exciting in concept than in reality, other than just watching the driverless car