TACOCOPTER (unmanned delivery drones)

I just saw this on the news, and was wondering if anyone else thinks this is the beginning of the end? I don't think it'll be much longer before seeing unmanned drones in our skies will become commonplace.




TACOCOPTER

Originally posted by moondoggy2
I just saw this on the news, and was wondering if anyone else thinks this is the beginning of the end?

To me, having built my own quadcopter, this is some kind of scam, hoax, prank or joke.

These machines, especially the small one pictured, do not have the capability to do anything like what the website proposes. Nor would it be legal.
Delivering tacos? No way.

More here, with quotes from an interview...

Current U.S. FAA regulations prevent ... using UAVs [Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, like drones] for commercial purposes at the moment," Simpson said...

...the Tacocopter website exists more as a conversation starter about the future of food delivery (and delivery in general), as well as about the commercial uses of unmanned vehicles, than an actual startup plan or business.

Simpson, who recently studied at MIT in the Personal Robots Group, has since moved on from Tacocopter to work on Canidu, an "electronics learning play set" for young children ...

link


Edit - and I found this with a google search. Who coulda thought that you didnt have to actually create a thread to find information. Turns out you dont need to ask other people for help, and that its possible to do it yourself.

Such a great idea.... pity it's still a concept.... I would love to see a system working like that... It reminds me of some of the brilliant ideas that have been created on the UK TV show Gadget Geeks.

Update, March 23: As we kind of suspected, TacoCopter isn't an actual service. Wired caught up with Star Simpson, the person who dreamed up the idea, who explained that it's just a concept. Still, don't let that stop you from picking up an AR.Drone, attaching a bag full of tacos to it, and flying it around your back yard! [TacoCopter]

LINK