In Ukraine and other armed conflicts across the globe, the drone has proven its worth as a gatherer of intelligence and a deliverer of destruction. What’s coming next, however, is a vastly expanded role for the drone here at home: as the gatherer and deliverer of commercial goods and services.
You can’t yet order flashlight batteries or casserole mixes and have them delivered to your door by a flying vehicle. But that’s only because you live in North Carolina rather than in Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Texas, Utah, or Virginia. Walmart just launched a pilot program in those states to deliver consumer products by drone. Amazon will try out its new Prime Air service in select California communities later this year.
If such deliveries (and pickups) prove popular with consumers, our skies could soon be thick with drones. Are we truly ready for this?
In North Carolina, the answer is … kinda. George Mason University’s Mercatus Center recently ranked the states according to their preparedness for drone commerce. As it happens, North Carolina tied with Georgia and New Jersey for sixth-best in the country. On the other hand, North Carolina scored a 58 on a 100-point scale. Only because so many other states are so woefully underprepared does our state rank so highly.
Continue reading: https://www.carolinajournal.com/opinion/are-we-ready-for-drone-skyways/
You can’t yet order flashlight batteries or casserole mixes and have them delivered to your door by a flying vehicle. But that’s only because you live in North Carolina rather than in Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Texas, Utah, or Virginia. Walmart just launched a pilot program in those states to deliver consumer products by drone. Amazon will try out its new Prime Air service in select California communities later this year.
If such deliveries (and pickups) prove popular with consumers, our skies could soon be thick with drones. Are we truly ready for this?
In North Carolina, the answer is … kinda. George Mason University’s Mercatus Center recently ranked the states according to their preparedness for drone commerce. As it happens, North Carolina tied with Georgia and New Jersey for sixth-best in the country. On the other hand, North Carolina scored a 58 on a 100-point scale. Only because so many other states are so woefully underprepared does our state rank so highly.
Continue reading: https://www.carolinajournal.com/opinion/are-we-ready-for-drone-skyways/
