Reported at The Register

This plan to separate planes from drones is a no-brainer, and a 10-year-old could have designed it. To avoid buildings and the like, Amazon proposes:

Geospatial data of all hazards to navigation over 200 feet.

That shouldn’t be too difficult to provide and will work fine for drones travelling from warehouse to warehouse. However, below 200 ft there are many more obstacles, including non-stationary objects. And to confound matters, a lot of private property.

There is a huge leap from flying around in drone space, and actually landing on someone’s front lawn to make a delivery.

If they have thought things through, Amazon might realise the need for a 3D mapping system.

As reported in the Washington Post this week:

In recent days, drones have smuggled drugs into an Ohio prison, smashed against a Cincinnati skyscraper, impeded efforts to fight wildfires in California and nearly collided with three airliners over New York City.

Earlier this summer, a runaway two-pound drone struck a woman at a gay pride parade in Seattle, knocking her unconscious. In Albuquerque, a drone buzzed into a crowd at an outdoor festival, injuring a bystander. In Tampa, a drone reportedly stalked a woman outside a downtown bar before crashing into her car.

Because drones do not need to be registered, the potential for harm is always going to be there. For a few hundred dollars you can remotely operate a vehicle anonymously. I foresee a time when all drones need to be registered, just like cars.