Amazon Drones On the Horizon?

Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s a package. Amazon has received FAA approval to use drones to deliver packages:

“Amazon did not say when customers could expect drones to drop packages at their doorsteps. Obtaining the F.A.A. certificate was an ‘important step,’ the company said, adding that it would continue to test the technology, which has been in development for years.” — “Drone Delivery? Amazon Moves Closer With F.A.A. Approval,” Concepción de León, New York Times

Alphabet’s Wing and UPS already have FAA approval for drone delivery.

More:

“Amazon Prime Air lands FAA approval for drone deliveries,” Carrie Mihalcik CNET

“Amazon receives U.S. regulatory approval to start drone delivery trials,” Nilanjana Basu and Neha Malara, Reuters

Update:

“No, Amazon Won’t Deliver You a Burrito by Drone Anytime Soon,” Aarian Marshal, Wired

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Barking Drones

New Zealand sheepherds trade dogs for drones.

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New Jersey: Don’t Drone While Drunk

Last Monday, before leaving the Governor’s office, New Jersey’s Chris Christie signed a law making it illegal to fly aerial drones while drunk. Anyone flying a drone in the Garden State with a blood alcohol content of 0.08 percent or higher or while drugged faces up to six months in jail, a $1,000 fine, or both. Flying drones near a prison or while pursuing wildlife is also banned.

Good luck with that. While all of Washington DC is a no-drone zone, nearly a hundred of the things flew over sensitive military sites in the area last summer, and a drunk off-duty federal intelligence employee crashed a hobby drone right onto the White House lawn in 2015.

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At the End of the Cul-de-Sac

“At the End of the Cul-de-Sac,” directed by Paul Trillo. A nine-minute short shot in a single take, using a drone. Find out how here.

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The Drone Film Festival

Highlight montage from the 2016 New York Drone Film Festival. 174 seconds of UAV videos.

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Wild Scotland

Filmmaker John Duncan flew drones over Scotland’s scenic Highlands and coastal islands. Selected for the National Geographic Short Film Showcase.

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Amazon. Airborne!

Press Release:

“Amazon Prime Air is a future service that will deliver packages up to five pounds in 30 minutes or less using small drones. Flying under 400 feet and weighing less than 55 pounds, Prime Air vehicles will take advantage of sophisticated ‘sense and avoid’ technology, as well as a high degree of automation, to safely operate beyond the line of sight to distances of 10 miles or more.”

What could possibly go wrong?

Feds to License Private Drones

Just because a few hundred drones almost downed a bunch of airliners and emergency helicopters, Big Gummint wants to require companies and quadcopter hobbyists to get permits for their drones. Frat boys of all ages now fear that the Drone Police will yank their joysticks if when they fail breathalyzer tests. “Registering drones — that’s the first thing the nazis did when they came to power,” said some jerk sometime real soon …count on it.

No Drone Zone

Hey kids! The folks at the Federal Aviation Administration remind you that you can’t fly drones in and around Washington, DC.  It’s a No Drone Zone.

More:

“Drone Operator Detained in Front of White House,” Julie Zauzmer and Mark Berman, Washington Post

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Drones Over Paris

Mysterious drones have flown over Paris for two nights, hovering over the Bois de Boulogne, Elysee Palace, Place de la Concorde, Les Invalides, U.S. Embassy, the Eiffel Tower and other landmarks. Reporters are having a field day speculating about the little unmanned aerial vehicles. Reporters from AJ made things even worse with their coverage, flying a camera drone over the City of Light for some POV footage before they were nabbed by panicky gendarmes.

The remote-controlled mini aircraft have been whizzing around France since October, over major roads and nuclear power plants, but these earlier drone flights were by hobbyists. It’s likely these Parisian ones were, too. Flying drones in French cities without a permit is forbidden, even in daylight, and there’s a steep fine. You can see why people would want to do it, though: