Another serious problem is becoming more and more prominent: after drones dominate the logistics industry in the future, where will the huge express delivery crowd go? Will those who are unlucky at that time "have not evolved wings"?
Love each other and kill each other: the collision between UAV and logistics is the spark of right and wrong
As early as 20 13, when Amazon announced the Prime Air project, it actually proposed to use drones to replace the last link of the logistics link-directly using drones to deliver goods to your door. However, at that time, due to the restrictions of drone technology and relevant laws in the United States, Amazon made slow progress in the field of drones. Fortunately, Amazon has never given up the research on the use of drones in logistics. Today, only the prototype of the drone has iterated to the seventh and eighth generations. Last June+February, 5438, Amazon successfully completed the first delivery test of unmanned aerial vehicles in the UK, and decided to expand the test scope of unmanned aerial vehicles in 20 17.
In China, from 2065438 to June 2005, JD.COM began to develop UAV functions through its JDX Innovation Lab. In June, 2006, JD.COM carried out pilot projects in Beijing, Sichuan, Shaanxi and Jiangsu provinces. At present, the flying speed of JD.COM UAV can reach100km per hour, and the weight of packages varies from 5kg to 30kg. Moreover, the UAV that can carry up to 1 000 kg is still being tested. SF Holdings also indicated that it had started testing unmanned aerial vehicles to deliver parcels in 20 13. By February of 20 17, the number of patents declared and obtained by SF in the field of unmanned aerial vehicles reached11,including invention patents 5 1 and utility model patents 54.
Coupled with other large or small enterprises focusing on this field, the "love" between drones and logistics seems to be going smoothly. But in fact, after several years of development, there are still too many "out of step" in the combination of the two: the flight distance of drones is limited and it is difficult to undertake long-distance transportation; Easy to be manipulated and invaded by hackers; How to resist unknown human attacks, sudden changes in the natural environment, etc. , to ensure safe delivery; The regulatory laws are getting stricter and stricter ... There are too many reasons why drones and logistics "kill each other", and many sparks of right and wrong collide.
Will mankind be unlucky? Just because "evolved without wings"
But why are there so many difficulties in the integration of drones and logistics, and so many giants still insist? The secret that Liu recently revealed. "Today, we have more than 70,000 deliverymen working in the street, which is very expensive. If you can use drones to transport parcels, the cost will be very low. " This cost saving is extremely important for JD.COM, and may even reduce JD. The logistics cost of COM in rural areas has been reduced by 70%, which makes JD.COM profitable.
Therefore, the moment when drones are fully integrated into logistics, it will also change the logistics industry. This not only helps to reduce costs, but also allows e-commerce to extend to more remote areas. But this also brings a very serious question-where did the huge human express team go? Should humans who "have not evolved wings" be replaced by drones to conform to the trend?
Perhaps some of them will also get technical jobs related to drones and logistics, such as using cameras to observe or control drones, delivery robots and unattended warehouses. In addition, a large number of workers are needed to maintain or repair the whole logistics system. However, these positions are doomed to be impossible to completely change the work of all couriers, and some people will inevitably lose their jobs. If the word unlucky is used to describe it, it is really unlucky to lose a job with a good income. But as the saying goes, if you don't break through, you may be able to make another wonderful life without doing the tired and dirty industry of express delivery.
Back to the essence: there is never a loser in the debate between machines and humans.
In fact, the combination of UAV and logistics essentially represents a kind of progress of human society, but at the same time it will also pose a certain threat and impact on human employment and survival. Just like when the steam engine appeared, the substitution of water and wind frightened many people-such as grooms and trackers. And it is also like AI can replace some simple human consciousness work when it develops to a certain extent in the future.
These can actually be regarded as the struggle between machines and human beings. There will definitely be running-in pains in a short time. But in the long run, machines have replaced the most arduous, mechanized and basic work, and human beings can engage in other occupations to survive and gain more room for improvement. Only by combining the two can human society continue to develop at a high speed. (New technology discovers Constantine/Wen)