[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2014\/05\/20\/retail-drones-just-pie-in-the-sky\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2014\/05\/20\/retail-drones-just-pie-in-the-sky\/","headline":"Retail drones: Just pie in the sky?","name":"Retail drones: Just pie in the sky?","description":"The FAA is under pressure to review regulations regarding commercial and hobbyist drones after a near-collision in March.","datePublished":"2014-05-20","dateModified":"2024-10-28","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/admin\/#Person","name":"From The Editor","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/admin\/","identifier":2,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f6b4d01c0a2a6beaf559e7b1674e57e2132bcc97fb9c5917786acc398639d6a6?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f6b4d01c0a2a6beaf559e7b1674e57e2132bcc97fb9c5917786acc398639d6a6?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Future of Commerce","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","width":172,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/shutterstock_148606448.jpg.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/shutterstock_148606448.jpg.jpg","height":350,"width":550},"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2014\/05\/20\/retail-drones-just-pie-in-the-sky\/","about":[{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/commerce\/","name":"Commerce","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Commerce","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q26643"]},"Retail Trends, Data, News",{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/commerce\/trends-commerce\/","name":"Trends","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fad","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q787045"]}],"wordCount":901,"keywords":["Amazon","Drones","E-commerce","Retail Trends"],"articleBody":"Amazon founder-CEO Jeff Bezos\u00a0got a lot of laughs\u00a0last year when he said that the retailer would soon employ drones to deliver packages. Turns out, he was\u00a0serious.But last week, the idea didn’t seem quite so simple or imminent. The head of the unmanned-aircraft office at the Federal Aviation Administration Thursday revealed that a commercial airliner in March had come close to colliding with a small unmanned aircraft. The disclosure renewed pressure on the FAA to quickly address commercial and hobbyist drones\u00a0with clearer regulations.The FAA regulates and currently severely\u00a0restricts\u00a0the commercial use of a drone, although some court cases have successfully challenged the agency\u2019s authority.Major changes in transportation modes tend to greatly affect retailers. For that reason, many retailers are keeping an eye on the evolution of drones in delivery. But will they have the same level of impact on retail businesses that, say, the transcontinental railroad did in the 19th century or the national highway system did later on?Crowded skiesLast week’s report is the first instance of an airplane having a near-miss with a drone, but pilots have previously reported seeing drones get a little too close in the air.\u200b In the March incident, the pilot of the plane came so close to the drone that he\u00a0thought he had indeed collided with it. Although they didn’t, Jim Williams, the FAA official who disclosed the incident at a conference on drones last week, said\u00a0that “the risk for a small [drone] to be ingested into a passenger airline engine is very real.\u201dThe drone involved was\u00a0not the kind\u00a0of aircraft that would be used by Amazon or any other shipper, but rather an unmanned model of the type flown remotely by hobbyists. Still, the alarming news reignited the debate about how wise it is to allow freer use of drones for commercial purposes.Not just AmazonCertainly drones seem like a new wave of transportation that could\u00a0help revolutionize retail. The railroads, the development of a nationwide highway transportation system, and air freight have each in turn helped drive innovations in retail businesses that wouldn’t have been possible without them. Several entities are seriously considering the use of drones.While FedEx CEO Frederick Smith has called Amazon\u2019s drone delivery \u201cmythology,\u201d the shipper has nevertheless been\u00a0exploring\u00a0the idea.\u00a0UPS\u00a0and\u00a0DHL\u00a0are also looking into flying drones, while Rolls Royce is exploring\u00a0unmanned cargo vessels at sea.And it\u2019s not just shipping, either, that could help populate our skies with unmanned aircraft.\u00a0Farmers\u00a0are increasingly using drones to gather information on their crops, and many want to use them for crop dusting.\u00a0Hollywood and news organizations want the ability to film using drones, and the National Association of Realtors is similarly pushing to use drones to capture photos of property. In fact, Bloomberg recently reported that\u00a0several organizations are lobbying\u00a0both for and against the use of drones.That\u2019s not surprising considering that drone use has potential in health care, energy,\u00a0law enforcement,\u00a0weather reporting, wildlife protection, search and rescue, and mapping, among others.Google earlier this year\u00a0bought Titan Aerospace, a two-year-old start-up that makes solar-powered drones. Google could theoretically employ drones to maximize its Google Earth project, deliver data, and, yes,\u00a0deliver packages.Even Washington\u2019s baseball team, the Nationals, got in hot water with the FAA during spring training in Florida after they took publicity photos using a drone. Their defense? That their\u00a0pop flies go higher\u00a0than the drone ever did.Privacy concernsSafety is not the only issue when it comes to unleashing drones in the sky. Groups like the American Civil Liberties Union and some members of Congress\u00a0are worried about drones\u2019 potential for invading privacy\u00a0and possibly violating U.S. citizens\u2019 Fourth Amendment rights against unlawful search and seizure.Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) for one became especially concerned\u00a0after a drone flew by a window\u00a0in her home and got very close to her face when she peeked out. Congressional\u00a0lawmakers\u00a0are concerned about both purposeful and accidental\u00a0surveillance\u200b, and several states have passed laws limiting drone activity.The sky may be the limitThe FAA\u00a0has promised commercial drone rules by 2015, but a federal watchdog has said the agency is likely to miss that deadline.\u00a0In the interim, impatient companies may continue to challenge the agency\u2019s authority and begin (or continue) their use of drones.Still, even as companies flout the FAA and use drones (or at least develop programs to use them), the future of drones in retail, for Amazon, or anyone, remains uncertain. Right now, it’s all potential, but there is no infrastructure for drone delivery. As the skies become more crowded, safety and privacy issues will likely loom even larger in people\u2019s minds.When other modes of transportation helped revolutionize retail, retailers were poised to deliver. Today?\u00a0Maybe not so much.\u00a0As it stands, it\u2019s\u00a0unclear how much of a priority\u00a0super-speedy delivery is for online shoppers. The problems retailers are grappling with and the innovations they need may require a bird’s eye view, but it all may be happening a bit closer to Earth.  Relationship status: Complicated.AI in e-commerce is critical, but obstacles around data privacy, talent, and integration are slowing adoption. Our powerhouse panel has the stats + strategies you’re looking for. Register HERE."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2014","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2014\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"05","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2014\/\/05\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"20","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2014\/\/05\/\/20\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Retail drones: Just pie in the sky?","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2014\/05\/20\/retail-drones-just-pie-in-the-sky\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]