For all those times you’ve been at the beach, or on the golf course, or anywhere else that a standard slate of summer travels may take you, and wished that you had some particular item or another, the concept of drone deliveries is likely very exciting.
While Amazon’s been working on the concept for some time now, Walmart may be poised to beat Amazon to the punch, as new reports suggest the company is six to nine months away from bringing drones into play.
Back in October of 2015, Walmart applied for a license to start testing drones for “end-to-end fulfillment of online orders.”
Though it seems to have only gotten permission to use drones in warehouse operations, that could be the start to bringing drones to delivering items to people’s houses.
Right now, the drones are shown being able to check products stocked in aisles at the rate of about 30 frames per second, notifying human supervisors about improper stocking or diminishing quantities of available product.
At last report, Amazon’s own plans for drones have been similarly hampered by the Federal Aviation Administration, which has so far only approved of drone aircraft in test environments.
The biggest problem so far for drone aircraft deliveries appears to be federal regulation, which is perhaps the most galling thing about the entire process.
We’ve got the technology, but no one can actually put it to use without risking fines and penalties from the government.
Granted, this is a comparatively new technology, and we’re likely a ways away from being able to pull out our phones or tablets and order, pay for, and have a product delivered right where we are.
The idea, however, is valid, just as soon as it can be properly perfected and the government can get out of the way.
A future in which we can so readily shop, regardless of location, could be an exciting one, but it’s still going to be a while out. We have something to look forward to, and with mobile payments, its versatility only increases.