I love things like this. My theory about the Internet is that it empowers creative people. It does this by extending the reach of a person’s ideas for very low cost and with very few barriers to entry. Well, technology is also extending our ability to physically affect the world around us. We have developed many tools over time to get us to go faster, higher and farther. Now, Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos has announced he wants to use drones to deliver packages within 30 minutes of ordering.
Now that’s pretty cool.
Of course I can think of about 10 problems with this idea but the #1 problem is lawyers. Same with self driving cars. A new technology pretty much has to be completely flawless or else the lawyers will eat you for breakfast.
I suppose that is a bit of a commentary on our society where some people think if anything every goes wrong for them they have to have somebody else to blame. Still, that is off topic.
Another problem is the item would have to be in the local distribution center for it to be sent to you. Perhaps 3d printing will enable items to be printed and customized, then a drone would deliver it to you? Perhaps it will even deliver to wherever you are? Imagine driving on a road trip and pulling over for a drone delivery. Heck, deliver a pizza too while you are at it.
My favorite idea in this respect though comes from Rainbows End, a book by Vernor Vinge. In it, Fedex/UPS (they merged apparently) use a large gun to shoot packages to your house where they land with GPS guided parachutes. Now that’s cool. 🙂
We should be teaching these technologies in school because they are the tools by which the next generation will shape the world.
Education Stormfront 
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