[next_xibalba]

I'm generally pretty gung ho about tech adoption. Nuclear? Yes! LLMs everywhere? Let's try it! Crypto? OK... give it a go! Self driving cars? Heck yeah!

But I really, really don't want drones flying over my house, polluting the already noisy soundscape, etc. This just strikes me as a terrible idea.

[teachrdan]

My dream is that an increase in drones would lead to a decrease in vehicular deliveries, to the point that there would be a net decrease in noise.

But in my heart of hearts I am certain the convenience of drone delivery -- and an absence of sufficient regulation -- would lead to a drastic net increase in noise instead.

[hamdingers]

This dream is naive. One truck rumbling (or humming, in the near future) through your neighborhood delivering packages to each of your neighbors over the course of 30 minutes will be replaced with one drone per neighbor.

If they must exist, I hope they're priced/taxed such that they're used sparingly.

[fragmede]

Bit of a travelling salesman problem, but I think a hybrid approach would be optimal. Have the delivery van drive to a neighborhood, then release drones from the van to deliver packages to individual houses.

[ssl-3]

Now instead of just one truck for a whole route of deliveries, or one noisy drone per individual delivery, we get multiple particular corners in any given area where the sound is concentrated like a buzzsaw testing facility every day because that's where the Amazon dudes like to park and release the drones.

It'll be awesome when they decide that the parking spot in front of my house -- with no trees or overhead lines -- is an ideal place for drone staging.

(And no, I'm not particularly worried about any of these noise issues. I predict that it'll all sort itself out just fine. Besides, I personally think the spectacle of a swarm of package delivery drones leaping forth from a truck is something that I would never tire of observing.

But it is fun to think about the problems and the solutions. The deeper one dives, the more complex they get.)

[throwaway2037]

Electric trucks are nearly silent. Drones are much louder in my experience. Do I misunderstand your comment?

[teachrdan]

Assume a silent drone that never cuts internet cable.

[throwaway2037]

I am similar to you. Have you seen the startup that is trying to make a more quiet deliver drone? It flies much higher then uses a long wire to drop the package at the location. The demos on YouTube look pretty cool and you don't hear the drone.