[RichieAHB]

For others interested in how these Sparrow (“Platform 1”) drones operate:

- Cruises at 80-120m and 60mph

- Max payload of 1.8kg

- 50 mile max delivery distance (although it can fly 190 mile on a single charge)

- Payload dropped by parachute from 25-30m into a 5m diameter landing zone.

More details on Wikipedia[1] and the Zipline site[2]

[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zipline_(drone_delivery_comp...

[2] https://www.flyzipline.com/technology

[silviot]

They parachute deliver blood, but they will use a different technique for consumers.

From their website:

> Lowering from the body of the Platform 2 Zip, this little droid uses onboard perception to leave packages exactly where they're supposed to go, whether that's a doorstep or patio table.

[RichieAHB]

While that is true for Platform 2 drones, from reading this article [1] it seems the ruling currently only applies to Platform 1 drones (ie. the specs I was referencing). Although it does seem like the Platform 2 drones would be more of what you’d imagine for drones dropping consumer packages in the US. And that article goes on to state that this ruling seems like a jumping off point for securing further exemptions (ie for the Platform 2).

[1] https://dronedj.com/2023/09/19/zipline-earns-faa-bvlos-exemp...

[martincmartin]

The FAA release is very short, only 3 short paragraphs. The third sentence is:

Zipline is an FAA-certificated Part 135 operator and will use its Sparrow drone to release the payload via parachute.

[throwfaraway398]

With these specs, I wonder if some countries military wouldn't be willing to offer them more money than they could ever make with deliveries... (At least on a per-drone basis)

[fragmede]

1.8kg isn't much of a payload, nor is a 5m diameter very accurate for military use.

[some_random]

Spend 5-10 minutes on twitter watching drone footage out of the Ukrainian war, both sides are getting a lot of work done with less accurate, smaller payloads.

[e12e]

The traditional M18A1 Claymore mine weighs about 1.6 kg total and has optimal effect to 50m in a 60 degree arc (potentially lethal to 250m I think - Ed: "moderately effective up to a range of 100m ... fragments can travel up to 250m").

[ranting-moth]

1.8kg of high explosives and shrapnel. That's a total havoc in a 5m diameter.

And the safe zone does not start at 6m.

[BurningFrog]

It's 2-5 hand grenades.

[true_religion]

Most of the time if you've decided to go the 'air superiority' route, then you're in a traditional war. So I feel that the cost-value factors will still favor dropping larger ordinance from much larger drones.

[op00to]

Have you watched any of the drone footage from Ukraine? They are dropping hand grenades and modified mortar shells into tanks from drones. Mortar shells have about 500g of HE. Highly effective.

[true_religion]

I guess I was thinking about it from the point of view of a large industrial power fighting its equal.

Ukraine vs Russia seems more asymmetric. For instance, Russia can be an existential threat to Ukraine, but the positions can not be easily reversed since Russia has nuclear weapons. While they wouldn't want to deploy them, they'd rather do that than lose Moscow.

Asymmetric warfare makes use of a great number of things, which wouldn't be very cost-effective in a battle of equals. For instance all the insurgents that use IEDs to harass checkpoints, would probably rather use factory made air-craft delivered ordinance.

[hef19898]

And yet Ukraine is stopped by old school mine fields... Well, slowed down considerably. It is almost as if everything is a trafe off with benefits and downsides.

Drones work until drone-specific AA is developed, and then it will be the same race we see between tanks and anti-tank weapons.

[mambru]

https://www.engineering.com/story/can-swarms-of-cheap-drones...

[concordDance]

The most important number isn't in your list: noise level

That's what really needs solving for mass drones to take off.

[lathiat]

They actually solved that. Watch Mark Robers video at 13m50s: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOWDNBu9DkU&t=830s

However this FAA approval is apparently for the Gen1 fixed wing plane (which is quieter than a drone anyway). Their Gen2 "drone" design is barely audible.

[bakies]

the same quiet propellers are on both drones

[mardifoufs]

I'm pretty sure Uber is now profitable. Not surprising considering the absurd prices they now charge for delivery. (probably not absurd w.r.t actual cost, but very very far away from the prices that they were charging when they started Uber eats)

[amelius]

And what's the computer platform they use on board?

[system2]

Standard brick weights about 2 kg (4 pounds). Plus the drone itself probably another 2 lbs. Imagine getting bonked by a malfunctioning 6 lbs. drone at 200 mph.

[XorNot]

This device though doesn't have the density of a brick, and it is aerodynamic: failure modes wouldn't be an uncontrolled freefall, it would be a stable glide.

You could fail-safe this by adding parachute pyrotechnics which require an active command signal to not deploy: that way the worst case total electrical failure of a drone would immediately deploy chutes to slow it down.

This seems like a much more acceptable control then the failure mode of a car: which weighs 2 tons and contrary to popular belief only stays on roads by convention.

[crooked-v]

That's already more or less a solved problem with consumer drones: outside a catastrophic mechanical failure like a wing shattering or the motherboars spontaneously dying, the failure state is that the drone either returns to its starting location using GPS, or hovers and waits for manual control until its battery is almost out and then slowly descends while beeping loudly.

[meheleventyone]

The current version of the drones used here and mentioned by the FAA is a fixed wing design though, it’s only the second version that has the ability to hover. A loss of power at low altitude is going to mean it crashes into something. Reading through the links in the article there’s a lot of mention of their Detect & Avoidance system so presumably it can somewhat safely steer through the airspace.

I assume given the 5m radius for drops they’re going to be operating in places that mostly have low density though. I’d also assume that they’d plan flight paths to be as safe as possible.

[singularity2001]

in the video, it says that they have backup components or everything, and if they fail a parachute activates

[josefresco]

> That's already more or less a solved problem with consumer drones

The words of a man who's never experienced rapid, unexpected, uncontrollable "drone flyaway". And yes, I have a modern, very capable drone and I'm not a complete idiot. Sometimes they just go... crazy.