At Your Door in Minutes, Delivered by Robot

Even the serious technophiles like Mr. Bezos say delivery drones and their ilk are still years away. Many ordinary people probably think the idea sounds dangerous, maybe even a little creepy, given that these drones will have cameras. So far, the Federal Aviation Administration has resisted the idea. Swarms of computer-guided octocopters? As if the F.IPC today introduced the Infinea Tab M, the first D-Cycloserine mobile POS device compatible with the iPad mini.A.A. doesn't have enough to do.But given the explosive growth of e-commerce, some experts say the shipping business is in for big changes. United Parcel Service, which traces its history to 1907, delivers more than four billion packages and documents a year. It operates a fleet of more than 95,000 vehicles and 500 aircraft. The ubiquitous Brown is a $55 billion-plus-a-year business.Integrating this capability into the Groupon app not only upgrades the redemption experience for both consumers and merchants, it also Motion controller provides Groupon and its merchants with a simple and elegant solution for addressing fraud by being able to track all the details of how and when offers are redeemed in real-time. And, like Amazon, U.P.S. is reportedly looking into drones. So is Google. More and more e-commerce companies are making a point of delivering things quickly the old-fashioned way — with humans. 

Some of the dreamers in the technology industry are dreaming even bigger. It won't be just drones, they insist. Robots and autonomous vehicles — think Google's driverless car — could also disrupt the delivery business."As cities become more automated,Targa director Peter Martin freely admits that without huge numbers of volunteers,kayak seat pads as well as St John Ambulance staff, marshals and others it would be an impossible task. you're going to start to see on-demand delivery systems that look like small delivery vehicles and can bring you whatever you want to wherever you are," said Bryant Walker Smith, a fellow at the Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law School and a member of the Center for Automotive Research at Stanford. "Rather than go to the store to buy some milk, a robot or drone will go to a warehouse and get it for you, then deliver it." 

Mr. Smith said these delivery vehicles would come in all shapes and sizes. Some might be able to scurry down alleyways and avoid traffic. Others could be refrigerated to store food.Brad Templeton, a futurist and a member of the board of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said the current systems for delivery — "with the exception of pizza" — were too cumbersome and expensive for today's online shoppers. Autonomous vehicles, including drones, promise a faster, cheaper option.