Drones are invading the delivery game. From pizza companies to online shopping websites, these places have started offering delivery by drone. In an effort to stay ahead and branded as pioneers in technology, these companies are doing it all. The massive online shopping company Amazon may have found the final piece of the puzzle.
In an effort to bridge the gap, Amazon filed a patent that can appeal to its non-tech savvy consumers. The patent involves a drone interface that can recognize human hand/arm gestures. It would then interpret the gestures and follow a command programmed. This would, in theory, make people who are terrified of new technology to open their ideas on it.
Amazon Takes on the Gap:
A recent study showed a distrust between drone deliveries compared to deliveries done by human workers. This goes even further, with consumers who are not familiar with drones would not even consider using them. Therefore, how can a huge corporation nudge these majority consumers in the right direction?
This patent may be the solution.
The recipient of the package need to simply use hand gestures to guide the drone into their direction. Simple hand gestures that anyone can learn would be a good start with drone integration. Gestures like “come here” and “shoo or go away” would give the drone enough information in navigation. This includes the drone’s speed when nearing the target, its descent, as well as its landing choices. These actions would indicate to the drone that they can either drop the package in the area, or move closer/farther away.
The drone, obviously, is equipped with sensitive cameras. This, along with sensors that utilize sounds and can measure depth, can make drones create decisions when landing.
It is, however, still a patent filed for an invention that is still imaginary. The idea sounds great on paper, but actual creation of the drone will be complicated. They will have to program the drone into understanding the basic gestures. Drones also need to be in huge numbers to accommodate the large deliveries on an everyday basis.
It will take a long time before you can order your delivery drone to stop at your doorstep. The patent as well as the drone itself is still in its very early stages of development. But hey, it does seem like a nice idea, right?
