Drones: Here & Now Anyone Wonder Why All The New Trucks (Retrofit?)

[Necropostophiliac]

I had to look that word up.

Lud·dite
ˈlədˌīt/
noun
plural noun: Luddites

1. a member of any of the bands of English workers who destroyed machinery, especially in cotton and woolen mills, that they believed was threatening their jobs (1811–16).
   • a person opposed to increased industrialization or new technology.
     "a small-minded Luddite resisting progress"

 

[HEFFERNAN]

UPS needs the 22.4 language to go through so we can drone our cheap labor to our costly, hard-to-reach, final mile deliveries.

If we lose one, they can be easily replaced,

 

[MyTripisCut]

Lots of hawks in the suburbs here. Maybe we outta get them to do our next contract....

 

[ManInBrown]

Oh good, they’re still using the same piece of “Horsefly” drone shown in this UPS PR video last year.

“The HorseFly is an unmanned drone capable of delivering a 10-pound package and uses just 3 cents per mile to operate. Built with carbon fiber construction, the HorseFly is capable of flying at a max speed of 50 mph with a 30-minute flight time.”

“Last year, Workhorse and UPS teamed up to test the drone delivery, with the HorseFly successfully making a delivery from atop a UPS delivery vehicle in Lithia, FL. Workhorse built the electric UPS package car used in the test.“

Workhorse now making residential deliveries with HorseFly drone

Check out the end of this video for the drone up before the roof door closes on it.

Imagine the big smile on that m0r0n’s face as the company does everything in their power to eliminate her job. No way she’s a real driver.

 

[soberups]

Funny stuff listening to the Luddites wishing it wasn't reality coming their way.

There is no current or forseeable battery technology that will allow drones to deliver a significant amount of packages.
In order to provide any sort of labor savings, the drone would need to be able to fly up long driveways in rural areas while the driver proceeded to and delivered to the next stop.
The drone has a 10 lb weight limit. It cannot deliver to apartments or businesses. It cannot deliver to multistory buildings. It cannot deliver multiple or oversized packages. And on an urban route with high residential stop density, it will take longer to open the roof hatch, load the drone, wait for its return, and then secure it and close the hatch than it would to just walk up to the door.
Where I see drones being useful is in urban areas to deliver food or prescriptions or medication. I can easily forsee the day where I call my local Subway or Dominos and have my dinner flown to my house via drone. But doing the job of a package car driver? No.

 

[The Real Jack RyanMI6]

There is no current or forseeable battery technology that will allow drones to deliver a significant amount of packages.
In order to provide any sort of labor savings, the drone would need to be able to fly up long driveways in rural areas while the driver proceeded to and delivered to the next stop.
The drone has a 10 lb weight limit. It cannot deliver to apartments or businesses. It cannot deliver to multistory buildings. It cannot deliver multiple or oversized packages. And on an urban route with high residential stop density, it will take longer to open the roof hatch, load the drone, wait for its return, and then secure it and close the hatch than it would to just walk up to the door.
Where I see drones being useful is in urban areas to deliver food or prescriptions or medication. I can easily forsee the day where I call my local Subway or Dominos and have my dinner flown to my house via drone. But doing the job of a package car driver? No.

 

[The Real Jack RyanMI6]

If your only talking about current generation workhorse maybe however
If your talking drones in all categories sorry Wrong Answer, Try the Griff Aviation drone that can carry 500 lbs

 

[Old Man Jingles]

But doing the job of a package car driver? No.

I agree with that but 'Long,Long Driveways' regardless of stop density is a prime scenario for using drones.

 

[Old Man Jingles]

Lots of hawks in the suburbs here. Maybe we outta get them to do our next contract....

Watch last 5 secs

 

[Old Man Jingles]

UPS needs the 22.4 language to go through so we can drone our cheap labor to our costly, hard-to-reach, final mile deliveries.

If we lose one, they can be easily replaced,

Just like drivers?

 

[Box Ox]

Try the Griff Aviation drone that can carry 500 lbs

This is their heaviest lift model per their website (The Griff Fleet - griffaviation.com). And it’s a total piece of per comments in YouTube videos that feature it. Wouldn’t want that big er flying over me and my kids’ heads anyway.

 

[MyTripisCut]

This is their heaviest lift model per their website (The Griff Fleet - griffaviation.com). And it’s a total piece of per comments in YouTube videos that feature it. Wouldn’t want that big er flying over me and my kids’ heads anyway.

Now we are getting somewhere. We can use this one to pick up our helpers during peak, so maybe they won’t be twenty minutes late and sitting outside the wrong meet point without warm clothes?

 

[soberups]

If your only talking about current generation workhorse maybe however
If your talking drones in all categories sorry Wrong Answer, Try the Griff Aviation drone that can carry 500 lbs

Their Heavy Lift drone weighs 160 lbs and can carry 175 lbs with a flight endurance of 25 minutes. It then requires 3 hours to recharge.
Look at how big the damn thing is. There is no feasable way to mount it on the roof without having it get damaged by tree branches. It is too big and heavy for a driver to handle if it has a problem. And 25 minutes of flight time (or less, depending upon load and wind conditions) followed by 3 hours of recharge will further limit its usefulness.
This lithium ion battery is state of the art. And it simply wont work unless and until there is some sort of quantum leap in battery technology that increases their power to weight ratio by several orders of magnitude. Until then, you are running face first into the Law Of Diminishing Returns. The more weight you want to lift and the further you want to fly it, the bigger and heavier the battery and drone have to be....which requires more power to lift...which in turn requires an even bigger and heavier battery...ad infinitum.

 

[watdaflock?]

Good luck with that drone, delivering 20x20lb cases of cash register paper to Walmart.

 

[watdaflock?]

This lithium ion battery is state of the art. And it simply wont work unless and until there is some sort of quantum leap in battery technology that increases their power to weight ratio by several orders of magnitude. Until then, you are running face first into the Law Of Diminishing Returns. The more weight you want to lift and the further you want to fly it, the bigger and heavier the battery and drone have to be....which requires more power to lift...which in turn requires an even bigger and heavier battery...ad infinitum.

tada

 

[The Real Jack RyanMI6]

I agree with that but 'Long,Long Driveways' regardless of stop density is a prime scenario for using drones.

I see both points the rural and suburban.
My training route on EDD averaged 80 miles.
On Orion averaged 68 miles
There is a section with two parallel streets. The main one is straight through the heart of the neighborhood the other is parallel and 2.5 miles long with 8 courts each .75 miles long a truck equipped with 3 drones could save an ave of 10 miles to a high of 14
So that brings it down to around 58 miles per day in a suburban residential area And thats just one section out of many depending on amount the batteries on those things last and how fast they recharge it could shave as much as 20 to 30 miles off my training route especially if your directive. Is to load them before and after lunchtime

 

[Wally]

What if the drone breaks and dispatch is heavy due to clone numbers? Driver is screwed. Lol or, what if drone damages something?

 

[Wally]

Can't wait to send that message in....

'Horsefly has not returned / been waiting 10 min'

Will they provide ladders for us to safely climb on the roof when things go wrong?

Will they provide equipment to clear the 14 inches of snow off the roof in the Winter?

Windy days??

Opening the roof on rainy days?

No wind in Clarkville champ!

 

[soberups]

I see both points the rural and suburban.
My training route on EDD averaged 80 miles.
On Orion averaged 68 miles
There is a section with two parallel streets. The main one is straight through the heart of the neighborhood the other is parallel and 2.5 miles long with 8 courts each .75 miles long a truck equipped with 3 drones could save an ave of 10 miles to a high of 14
So that brings it down to around 58 miles per day in a suburban residential area And thats just one section out of many depending on amount the batteries on those things last and how fast they recharge it could shave as much as 20 to 30 miles off my training route especially if your directive. Is to load them before and after lunchtime

That is assuming that none of the houses in question has a delivery that exceeds the drone’s weight limit.
If you get even one stop on the adjacent street that requires a conventional hands-on delivery, most of the mileage savings are gone.
Another issue is Return On Investment. The drones, plus the training and infrastructure to support them, are expensive. It is questionable whether or not the program would pay for itself in a reasonable amount of time.
And most importantly, dont forget that the people who are pushing this idea the hardest are the same ones who are stupid enough to believe that ORION will actually work.

 

[The Real Jack RyanMI6]

That is assuming that none of the houses in question has a delivery that exceeds the drone’s weight limit.
If you get even one stop on the adjacent street that requires a conventional hands-on delivery, most of the mileage savings are gone.
Another issue is Return On Investment. The drones, plus the training and infrastructure to support them, are expensive. It is questionable whether or not the program would pay for itself in a reasonable amount of time.
And most importantly, dont forget that the people who are pushing this idea the hardest are the same ones who are stupid enough to believe that ORION will actually work.

True to true all good pointsi
The first step to avoid a trap is knowing it exists something our union leadership should have done.
Im human and i could be wrong it just seems as if some of these things like drones and 22.4s should have never made it anywhere near the contract that we are being asked to vote on. You bring up Orion no matter how bad it is we will at some point be forced to abide by it, that being said the extra frustration takes a toll on the working family. So to drones, what the hell are they doing in the final contract. Just saying this job sucks enough. My study of the historic nature of unions, leads me to understand that at least 1 of many many reasons they exist was to protect and provide workers with a life outside of the workplace, examples include 40 hr work weeks etc... now we are decades dor the start and it feels as if we are just not so slowly going backwards