Drones

Drone delivery nets could be the mailboxes of the future

Drone delivery nets could be the mailboxes of the future
The Skynet concept offers a solution to the problems posed by drone delivery
The Skynet concept offers a solution to the problems posed by drone delivery
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The Skynet system sees drones zero in to drop deliveries into a purpose-built net, guided by LEDs to ensure centimeter perfect accuracy
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The Skynet system sees drones zero in to drop deliveries into a purpose-built net, guided by LEDs to ensure centimeter perfect accuracy
The Skynet concept offers a solution to the problems posed by drone delivery
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The Skynet concept offers a solution to the problems posed by drone delivery
LED indicators on each of the net's four corners triangulate the drone's position
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LED indicators on each of the net's four corners triangulate the drone's position
The Skynet concept promises a solution to the problems posed by drone delivery
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The Skynet concept promises a solution to the problems posed by drone delivery
LED indicators on each of the net's four corners triangulate the drone's position
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LED indicators on each of the net's four corners triangulate the drone's position
The pair are now moving onto the process of building a functioning prototype in preparation for Drones For Good, a global competition backed by the United Arab Emirates government with a first prize of US$1 million
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The pair are now moving onto the process of building a functioning prototype in preparation for Drones For Good, a global competition backed by the United Arab Emirates government with a first prize of US$1 million
The pair are now moving onto the process of building a functioning prototype in preparation for Drones For Good, a global competition backed by the United Arab Emirates government with a first prize of US$1 million
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The pair are now moving onto the process of building a functioning prototype in preparation for Drones For Good, a global competition backed by the United Arab Emirates government with a first prize of US$1 million
The pair are now moving onto the process of building a functioning prototype in preparation for Drones For Good, a global competition backed by the United Arab Emirates government with a first prize of US$1 million
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The pair are now moving onto the process of building a functioning prototype in preparation for Drones For Good, a global competition backed by the United Arab Emirates government with a first prize of US$1 million
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With drone technology progressing so quickly, it may not be too long before they start dropping packages at our doorsteps. But proposals for how the vehicles can safely navigate fences, pets and small children haven't been entirely convincing so far. A pair of Australians believe they have the answer, with a system that sees drones zero in to drop deliveries into a purpose-built net, guided by LEDs to ensure centimeter-perfect accuracy.

The Skynet concept won't attract the publicity of big name announcements like those of Amazon and Google, but it may help shape an equally important link in the chain. Neither of the companies has offered too much detail on this last step in the delivery drone process, other than a rope seen lowering cargo in Google's Project Wing video and Amazon's assumption that everybody has nice flat landing surfaces at their front doors.

"These drop it into your yard, which is no good if you live in an apartment," Clinton Burchat, one half of the Skynet team, tells Gizmag. "I thought, this whole system would be better if you could drop the delivery into a net. But it was a question of accuracy, as GPS is nowhere near accurate enough."

It was then that Burchat turned to electrical engineer Grant Bajema to look into how this level of precision could be achieved. The pair devised a solution whereby GPS would guide the drone to the correct delivery address and to within reasonable proximity of the net. LED indicators on each of the net's four corners would then be used to triangulate the drone's position, enabling it to position itself around one meter (3.3 ft) above the net. A built-in sensor would then scan a unique barcode that verifies that net as the rightful recipient of the package, before the package is dropped into a lockable container.

The Skynet system sees drones zero in to drop deliveries into a purpose-built net, guided by LEDs to ensure centimeter perfect accuracy
The Skynet system sees drones zero in to drop deliveries into a purpose-built net, guided by LEDs to ensure centimeter perfect accuracy

"The system would be drone agnostic," explains Burchat. "There are already lots of people working on the other problems posed by drones, (crash avoidance, payload, etc.), but ours focuses on that last step and would be designed to work with services like Amazon and Google."

The team says the Skynet system could be installed in homes or apartments, though its not quite a matter of plonking the net down and waiting for the deliveries to start rolling in.

"It would have to be professionally installed, much like Foxtel (an Australian cable and satellite TV service), says Burchat. "You would need a technician with basic skills to secure it to a wall and make sure its completely level, otherwise you won't have the accuracy that is needed for the delivery."

The pair are now moving onto the process of building a functioning prototype in preparation for Drones For Good, a global competition backed by the United Arab Emirates government with a first prize of US$1 million
The pair are now moving onto the process of building a functioning prototype in preparation for Drones For Good, a global competition backed by the United Arab Emirates government with a first prize of US$1 million

It is early days for Skynet, with the system still at the concept stage. But the pair are now starting to build a functioning prototype in preparation for Drones For Good, a global competition backed by the United Arab Emirates government with a first prize of US$1 million.

The Skynet team is one of 20 finalists, but to claim first prize it will need to beat out other forward-thinking concepts, such as drones for window cleaning, landmine detection and tree-planting.

You can check out the team's video submission below.

Source: Drones For Good

Skynet HD Drone Delivery System

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8 comments
8 comments
zevulon
800 pound gorilla is power density divided by payload/pound per mile energy coast.
meaning------how power dense are your batteries relative to your dead weight payload.
the bottom line is this factor is orders of magnitutde higher for flying vehicles than ground vehicles. and 'refueling' or 'recharging' is and would be generally that much more difficult for aerial vehicles than ground vehicles.
the future of delivering of most objects that aren't bombs or high value payloads -----is by autonomous ground vehicles NOT flying drones.
all the hooplah is nonsense. if you read between the lines and pay attention to the people taking the 'buildout' of aerial delivery seriously---the major flaws are there. ground delivery is obviously going to work for delivering all generic things, whereas aerial will not.
the only issue with ground delivery is the complexity of integrating as of yet unfinished autonomous computer drivers into a world with manned cars, pedestrians, cyclists, and even the occasional cat running across the road.
once that is accomplished, the funadmental constraints of physics weigh uniformly in favor of ground delivery.
myale
I still did not see anything about water tight enclosures - perhaps I missed it , but I sure know when I want a parcel dropped off I want it under cover and dry - in the UK coming back to a sogey mess of a box with our weather would not be a great idea for me
Mel Tisdale
Just for the record, according to Todd Humphry's TED talk, GPS is now capable of being millimetre accurate re. http://www.ted.com/talks/todd_humphreys_how_to_fool_a_gps.
Generally speaking, we need to beware of replacing low skilled labour, such as delivery drivers, with automation, be it by drone or as others suggest, autonomous vehicles. The world of work is changing with a divide growing between a small group of highly skilled and highly paid professionals on the one hand and a large group of people either performing menial tasks or being unemployed on the other.
We know that there will soon come a time when governments will simply not have the funds to meet the needs of the unemployed and the pensioners, to name but two categories of those likely to suffer in the near future.
It is difficult to see the situation ending well. Some even make reference to Mad Max when voicing their fears for our future. We are making a right, royal mess of tackling climate change, something that is a lot simpler a problem to deal with than having hordes of hungry people marauding for food in a world devoid of law and order ever can be.
To any who think I am exaggerating, ask yourself if you would feel easy walking the streets of Detroit today. As Catastrophe Theory shows, things often change insidiously before they suddenly become catastrophic.
Rehab
There is no need for a drone delivery system for parcels. Annoying plus cluttering up the sky is no solution. There's a lot of room for improved deliveries but drones are not the answer. A great tool to assist in rescue, locating missing people and attacking the enemy.
Stephen N Russell
Netting ideal for hotels, hi rise condoes & apts dont know about suburban homes & ideal for Rural venues. Need GPS in each drone to map delievery aside LED aid.
pmshah
There is no technology that is ever going to replace the mail persons and the kind of service they provide.
I used to live in the Chicago area in the early seventies. There was no mail box nor a post office any where close to my residence. It would take anywhere from 2 to 3 days to first book and then make a call to India. Mail was only means of reliable communication. All I had to do was to leave my outgoing letters in the mailbox and the mail person while making a delivery would pick them up and take them back to the post office for further movement.
Ken Dawson
'Skynet'? is possibly the worst name ever. People who've seen The Terminator will remember it as the artificial intelligence that took over the world and destroyed humanity.
antfields
Hello from the other side of the world. As I'm sure you've guessed I came from the land of chimneys, not that we use them any more, that being said the majority of houses still feature one and it'll not be long before Santa comes to make use of them that one time of the year.
It got me thinking that you could provide a service to modify (clean out) chimneys so that it's Christmas Day every day with your delivery drones here in the UK (at least for small packages).