Is There a Drone Delivery In Your Future?

Tom EgelhoffPublished: March 11, 2014

BONN, GERMANY - DECEMBER 09: An Employee of German postal carrier Deutsche Post attaches a small delivery box on a quadcopter drone at Deutsche Post headquarters on December 9, 2013 in Bonn, Germany. Deutsche Post is testing deliveries of medicine from a pharmacy in Bonn in an examination into the viability of using drones for deliveries of small packages over short distances. U.S. online retailer Amazon has also started its intention to explore the possibilities of using drones for deliveries. (Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)

One of my earliest jobs was delivering flowers for our small town family business. Load up the truck every Mother’s Day, Valentines, Christmas, and start hitting houses with deliveries. It was a good job. There’s not really much heavy lifting with floral deliveries unless it was some giant potted plant. I wonder if it would have been an even more fun job directing drones to make those deliveries? Sort of like a high-tech video game.

Military Drones

We’ve all seen or heard of unmanned drone attacks in the Middle East. Drones fly over and dump explosives or fire rockets at military targets putting no American pilots lives at risk. Drones with infrared technology help clandestine raids by showing troops on the ground below where the bad guys are moving.

Police and Fire Drones

Police drones are able to follow suspects undetected. Fly into building where bad guys might be hiding. Help with traffic flow during rush hours in major cities. Checking fire damage before firefighters go into a damaged building. Having drones entering dangerous environments can save many lives of these first responders.

Commercial Applications

Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon was one of the first people to bring the commercial possibilities of drones to the spotlight. Amazon is one of biggest delivery companies in the business. Using drones and GSP technology, Amazon’s books, CD’s, DVD’s, and many other products could all be delivered to residential addresses.

Many online floral businesses are also exploring the possibility of using drones for their deliveries.

Movie applications are endless. Drones can go up the sides of cliffs, in forests, which would be too dangerous for planes or helicopters. They would also bring us closer to our favorite athletes than ever before.

Imagine being in a park on a spring day proposing marriage and suddenly a drone swoops down and deposits the ring at her feet. Now that’s romantic. I can see pay-per-view as a possibility during the Indianapolis 500 or the Rose Parade in Pasadena, CA. See the cars and floats up close and personal.

Some Final Thoughts

So will we see the skies packed with drones in our future? Probably not right away. There are still a few bugs to be worked out. Drone testing has shown that the GPS coordinates are pretty accurate. Usually the drone will land within five feet of the desired spot. So it could land on your roof or in your shrubbery.

I can see all future new homes build with a drone landing spot in the front yard. Not sure how apartment buildings will be handled. Perhaps hallways will have drone lanes or their own elevator shafts. Perhaps dropping packages on ledges of office buildings will be common someday.

What do you think? Are you for drone delivery or is it just so much pie in the sky. Oh wait, one more delivery option. Marie Callender's on the way.