Blade Runner Redux - Tesla Cybertruck! - Page 22 - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum

freebeard · 12-11-2019, 10:07 PM

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I was agreeing with you.

Once it has rolled over, it won't crush as easily. Plus if a tree or windmill tower falls on it.

Hersbird · 12-12-2019, 08:45 AM

The point is strong, but all the force is concentrated at that one spot. A normal flat roof would still be basically made by 2 triangles at each end with an upside down triangle in between spreading the forces over a bigger area.
I don't think that newer battery tech is going to be ready and for what would have to be a reduced cost in time for what Tesla is claiming to start production in what 11 months? Even 2 years it's not going to be ready. Face it, this truck is going to weigh 6500 pounds at the low end

Hersbird · 12-12-2019, 08:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redpoint5

The past month we've been getting nearly daily deliveries of packages since we no longer go to the store to buy anything but groceries and other consumable goods. That means stuff is being delivered on a nearly daily basis, and that will likely be true for the majority of people soon.

This got me thinking about drone deliveries and the problems they must overcome to be viable. My first thought was how darn noisy my drone is. You can hear it half a mile away, and when it's nearby, it's very loud. If we had thousands of these drones we'd have a perpetual buzz. Nobody would tolerate that. Perhaps the problem could be minimized with larger diameter rotors, which would probably necessitate a helicopter rather than multi-rotor design. Even that might still be too loud.

Next there is the problem of air traffic and vandalism, and failures resulting in objects falling from the sky. Big risk of injury when thousands of these are running about at all hours.

I'm not so sure we'll see drone deliveries, but autonomous vehicle delivery seems very likely. They would be nearly silent, and a breakdown would not result in injury. At some point I won't even be going to the grocery store. Delivery will be so cheap that it will be more expensive to have a storefront and the associated "breakage" and other waste rather than a warehouse that dispatches deliveries.

Most retail outlets will disappear and autonomous deliveries will help facilitate this.

I have always said you have to crawl before you can walk. Why anybody has thought they were going to go straight to flying delivery is just dreaming. The drones would have to be bigger to do what is a common size payload and even then where are they going to put it? Best case you get it out in your driveway but what about apartments? None of the apartments on my route even have rooftop access and I don't think customers will appreciate a pile of packages randomly stacked out by the pool.
Now tracked or wheeled slow drones on the sidewalks could fill lockers placed at apartments or put it on the porch of a house.

redpoint5 · 12-12-2019, 11:47 AM

I had considered experimenting with drone deliveries for people out on a trail or mountain climbing. One time I was climbing Mt. Jefferson and thought to myself that I'd probably pay $10 for a hotdog at that moment. When I climb Rainier, I spend the better part of a day melting snow and cooking meals that aren't particularly appealing after having exerted myself. I could send pizza and beer up there via drone and tack on a $15 delivery fee. The cost in "fuel" would be 5 cents, and the cost of the drone amortized over many deliveries.

Search and rescue should be drones by now. Instead of 1 expensive helicopter searching, you get 20 people with drones to cover a grid using GPS and 4k cameras.

Hersbird · 12-12-2019, 02:42 PM

People would do the search and rescue for free. I have always thought a pontoon boat roach coach would be a huge money maker on some popular boating lakes. It's probably against the law somehow. I know drones aren't allowed on national park property, I hope they don't get banned on regular national forest land as well.

redpoint5 · 12-12-2019, 02:50 PM

If drones weren't so darned loud, they would be fine flying around. You can hardly see the smaller ones unless they are very close.

Rainier is a national forest, so that location is out, but there are plenty of trails and mountains that aren't national forest.

freebeard · 12-12-2019, 02:57 PM

I think the best use of drones in the woods would be fire suppression.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotary_woofer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_vortex_cannon

A quadcopter for lift carries a subwoofer combined with an airzooka. All made from basalt fiber in high-temp epoxy.