Amazon made quite the splash a few days ago when they announced that they have been experimenting with strapping packages to multicopter drones and have an ambition to use drones to reduce delivery times to 30 minutes at some point in the future.
In an article today, the Financial Times says that this particular vision of the future is never going to happen – based on the trend that the future always turns out different. Sometimes profoundly so, but what shapes that future are still the ideas that today seem like science fiction.
In the early days of the motorcar, it was all about the “horseless carriage”. What really happened was something that shaped our lives and our planet: Suburbs, motorways, vast areas relegated to parking, pizza delivery, pollution. The FT tries to predict what drone delivery might entail from a similar perspective:
- Just-in-time inventory management can be even more just in time, perhaps even bringing the practice to consumers.
- Amazon’s competitive advantage is currently in mega delivery hubs. With drone delivery, local shops would better be able to compete on convenience.
- It’s not just about home delivery, it’s about anywhere-delivery. Just like you can summon an Uber cab via a smartphone you would be able to summon a delivery drone.
- There could be potential for sharing drone infrastructure.
For the rest of the predictions and additional detail, please go to the FT to read the full article.
