Startup Idea Every Day #2: Personal Errand Drones.
This the second post in the series "Startup Idea Every Day", where I will post a new startup idea for every day of January 2014, as part of my new years resolution to read and write more.
Idea #2
Recently there's been a ton of buzz about the prospect of Amazon using drones for the last few miles of the delivery process. Why should Amazon be the only company that has access to an idea this awesome?
I believe there should be a startup that manufactures and sells small aerial drones to consumers, capable of delivering a small payload (maybe 500 grams?) with the range to travel within a medium-sized city.
What are the pros?
- Reduce greenhouse-gas emission
- Reduce traffic
- Increase small business owner's ability to compete with e-commerce
- Decrease money spent on shipping
- Decrease transit time wasted
Who would buy a personal use drone? There were to ways I had envisioned the sale of errand drones.
- Sell them to individual consumers & businesses.
- Create a rental service, similar to that of a bike messenger.
What is the biggest challenge?
Getting people to become accustomed to the idea of using robots for assistance in dat-to-day life is definitely going to be a huge challenge for the future of tech companies. Creating a system in which a drone can deliver a parcel safely and accurately enough to be considered reliable for day-to-day use will definitely have a few road blocks.
Why do I think this is such a great idea?
My main reasons for thinking this is a great startup idea are
- It doesn't use the phrase "social network"
- It could truly change the way we view infrastructure and air travel
- The result would improve the quality of life, and benefit the environment, which is an incredible combination.
but besides the obvious reasons, I also like the idea because personal robots are truly at the edge of technology right now, and although they feel infeasible now, Moore's Law suggests that the "next big thing" will always feel impossible today. I have a distinct feeling that the leaders of the 2010s and 2020s are going to be the inventors and proprietors of integrated robotics.