Drone delivery of newspapers tested in Hokkaido

Sweet. Now this is what we call service.

Newspapers. I remember them: made out of paper with ink printed on it. Contained news that you knew would always be truthful and unbiased. ;)

Here's a thought, how about saving the newspaper in PDF, copying it to a floppy disk and having the drone delivery the floppy disk to each resident every morning.

Yeah, that would more efficient.

newspapers? hahaha who reads news printed on paper the night before? besides who will be liable when one of these drones injures a pet or crashes on someone?

Doesn't Hokkaido have Internet??

Burning BushToday  07:19 am JST

Here's a thought, how about saving the newspaper in PDF,

To read a PDF document one needs to have a computer, which requires electricity to run, and compatible software to open the document.

copying it to a floppy disk

What is a floppy disk, and how can one use it with a computer that was built this century?

I also use an iPad; can I use a floppy disk with it?

and having the drone delivery the floppy disk to each resident every morning.

Yeah, that would be more efficient.

No, I don’t think so.

sf2kToday  08:09 am JST

“Doesn't Hokkaido have Internet??”

Of course it does. Maybe you missed this part:

“with a view to bringing news to people in the event of a disaster.”

You know, like when the power and phone lines are out and stuff.

Dango bongToday  07:29 am JST

“newspapers? hahaha who reads news printed on paper the night before?”

Actually I know a lot of people who do every day. Anyway, again, this is about times of disaster when some of those newfangled devices for getting news might be useless for a period of time.

Luckily Hokkaido doesn’t have strong winds, heavy snow. So just make the delivery guys and gals unemployed, and make an excuse that weather conditions will stop your delivery. In Kansai countryside, I watched the delivery guy on a motorbike in snow and typhoons.

Dango bongToday  07:29 am JST

newspapers? hahaha who reads news printed on paper the night before? 

Technically challenged people, people who do not have, or do not know how to use, a computer, Tablet or ‘smart’ phone, the elderly - such as my 93 year old father-in-law, people who are physically impaired,....

sf2kToday  08:09 am JST

Doesn't Hokkaido have Internet??

Yes, it does.

What’s your point?

Technically challenged people, people who do not have, or do not know how to use, a computer, Tablet or ‘smart’ phone, the elderly - such as my 93 year old father-in-law, people who are physically impaired,....

impaired or not, newspapers are old news and of no value to anyone

GoodlucktoyouToday  08:57 am JST

Luckily Hokkaido doesn’t have strong winds, heavy snow. 

I, respectfully, disagree.

I’ve skied in Hokkaido and nearly been ‘blown off’ the mountain.

"A prefecture-wide blackout caused by the temblor also left many people unable to access information through television and digital devices."

From that explanation, it means that without electricity all information is "dead". Why not communication devices(for smartphones, iphones) drone battery at those places or sattelite internet transmission when the drone is landed at those isolated locations. What I can see here is much an advertisement of newspapers companies using advanced technology (drones here) and distributing "newspapers"? What about rainy days or stormy days, does it work? This is a work for the electricity companies to make more efficient supports to the isolaters who pay every month the cost for electricity. Isn't that the point?

@Garthgoyle

I don’t feel the need to dignify your question with a response.

However, you may have better luck if you pose the same question to @Educator60, after you have read his/her post.

Dango bongToday  09:04 am JST

impaired or not, newspapers are old news and of no value to anyone

Obviously, you are entitled to your opinion, but I, and millions of people who purchase, and can read, newspapers would disagree with you.

BTW, what is your view in respect of other printed media such as books, magazines, manga, catalogs, instruction manuals, information bulletins, etc.?

Obviously, you are entitled to your opinion, but I, and millions of people who purchase, and can read, newspapers would disagree with you.

Millions? Is that why newspaper companies are teetering on bankrupts?

BTW, what is your view in respect of other printed media such as books, magazines, manga, catalogs, instruction manuals, information bulletins, etc.?

books and magazines are not time sensitive like news.

Did anyone notice that the drone can only carry one newspaper on one flight. So where does the drone get loaded with each newspaper. Drones have limited battery power for sustained flights which means you need a truck full of newspapers and backup drone batteries to deliver newspapers at 100 yen each, can't make money on this business model. Where can the the drone drop the newspapers in such a heavily populated area etc.

Stupid waste of time just like Amazon wanting to use drones to deliver their goods to your home.

@Dango bong

Millions?

Sorry, I meant TENS OF MILLIONS.

Quote: “ Japanese newspapers still sell over 40 million copies each day, amongst the highest number in the world, with more than 95% still bought through subscription.”

Source: Reuters Digital News Report 2017

Is that why newspaper companies are teetering on bankrupts [sic]?

Sorry man, you’ll have to find answer to that one yourself.

More noise pollution on the way. Saw a big pet drone on a beach in California and it was so loud and annoying let alone if it was used maliciously. I hope they are banned.

A mere advertisement. Most part of Hokkaido has resumed its operation back to normal. Local people already get news from TV and internet almost without restricting electricity usage.

Did anyone notice that the drone can only carry one newspaper on one flight. 

10

A group flew a drone carrying 10 Hokkaido Shimbun newspapers

Steve SinToday  12:55 pm JST

“A mere advertisement. Most part of Hokkaido has resumed its operation back to normal. Local people already get news from TV and internet almost without restricting electricity usage.”

Notice that it says:

“a view to bringing news to people in the event of a disaster.”

not, “in this disaster”.

HawkeyeToday  11:23 am JST

“Did anyone notice that the drone can only carry one newspaper on one flight.”

As Harry Gatto already pointed out, you have that number wrong. I would also say that in a disaster situation, it might be more important to get ten copies delivered to an isolated evacuation point where they can be shared and posted on a bulletin board, rather than deliver one to every household.

“impaired or not, newspapers are old news and of no value to anyone”

When peopke have been cut off from information by a power outage, even the somewhat dated news in a newspaper is new news to them.

I hope it doesn't make its way down to Kansai. If it does, I'm really gonna miss the sound of those delivery scooters waking me up at 4am.

garypen..."I'm really gonna miss the sound of those delivery scooters waking me up at 4am."

Don't worry, you will be kept awake day and night by the buzzing drone of the drone traffic overhead, landing next door, going up and down the streets. I really hope this does not happen.

Plus, imagine all the traffic hazards to drone navigation in cities, especially dense cities like Tokyo. Looking up and down my narrow street, there are street wires draped everywhere and street lights, and various activities featuring cranes and such. Boom, crash, sprinkling of metal.

Oh, and my local 4am delivery scooter guy has been my back-up to my alarm for years. I rather like that someone is out working hard so early...delivering newspapers. Will he be droned out of existence? I would miss him. :-)

Don't worry, you will be kept awake day and night by the buzzing drone of the drone traffic overhead, landing next door, going up and down the streets. I really hope this does not happen.

Drones are far quieter than internal combustion engine modes of transport. They will also free up the roads.

impaired or not, newspapers are old news and of no value to anyone

Nonsense. Newspapers today are less about saying what happened but more about giving interpretation and nuance.

Screens still do not lend themselves well to reading long tracts of text. People often do not read them well - just look at some of the comments above.

Companies using drones for delivery services are asking for trouble. All it takes is an idiot shooting a net at it and then the follow on copycat

Why are we looking to do this? I mean I understand to get messages to people that are cut off perhaps. But in reality a drone will only have enough battery to fly one run and then recharge. The cost of delivering a newspaper vs' online subscription.... but yeah I get it.

Stupid idea!

If people can't even fly a drone in a city, then i don't see it being profitable in the country side. All hype! So this drone carries 1 single newspaper.... I wonder how long the battary lasts? how far it can go? How much can it carry? How many trips/drones it'll take to deliver hundreds? and while this might be good for young people in the countryside, older people want to see a human being.

Kinda reminds of how people thought the kindle was going to kill off books, but it seems everyone who bought into the e reader craze put it in the corner, and now hardly touch it.

Sometimes we want something apart from a back light in front of our eyes, oh and we can drop a newspaper a book, a hundred times and we can even get them wet.Oh and nobody wants to steal it.

There are applications for drones, but I don't really see it being an every day occurrence.

Militarily, law enforcement, search and rescue, sports, but delivering pizza, newspapers, probably isn't one of them. Just a fad, like the flying cars we were promised.

Educator60,

Thanks for your comment but I still respectfully disagree. The question is what scenario is probable to enable drone delivery of newspaper.

This time Shindo 5 struck Sapporo, but local people still can get newspaper without any problem. If bigger earthquake hits Sapporo then infrastructure might be damaged, but in such a case Hokkaido Shimbun would not be able to print newspaper in the first instance....

So for me it is impossible to imagine the case where disaster hits Hokkaido, Hokkaido Shimbun can print the newspaper, but cannot convey it to local people.

Bubblegum, “So this drone carries 1 single newspaper....”

See above comments (or even the article) to check the accuracy of that number.

Steve SinSep. 22  10:00 pm JST, “So for me it is impossible to imagine the case where disaster hits Hokkaido, Hokkaido Shimbun can print the newspaper, but cannot convey it to local people.”

It’s certainly not impossible for me. Power outtages don’t necessarily cover all areas and there’s also a thing called generators or independent electricity systems. Case in point, the morning after 3.11 when our power was still out, the local newspaper, which is normally about 20 pages, delivered to us a one-page issue that had been printed overnight using generators and delivered on their regular routes by people using up the last of the gas in their motorcycles with no prospects of getting more soon. Luckily the roads around here were not damaged.

However, it’s very common for mountain villages and such to become cut off after an earthquake because the roads have become impassable. It’s difficult to predict exactly which areas will be isolated ahead of time and to me, having the option of drone deliveries is a good thing. That doesn’t mean I want to see them doing the regular daily newspaper deliveries in congested areas.