
Tacocopter - Flying Robots Deliver Tacos To You - erohead
http://tacocopter.com/
======
apinstein
Sadly there is no reasonable path to doing this legally. We are in the real
estate photography business and the FAA started cracking down on people using
helicopters and other UAV's for _commercial_ purposes. It's not allowed. You
can only fly drones/helicopters/etc remotely (or autonomously) as a hobby.

more info: [http://photographyforrealestate.net/2012/01/24/warning-
faa-s...](http://photographyforrealestate.net/2012/01/24/warning-faa-says-us-
airspace-is-closed-to-all-commercial/)

~~~
mortenjorck
FAA, county health department, municipal regulations on restaurant delivery...
Tacocopter is up against a nearly vertical hill of red tape, but the utterly
fantastic thing is that we're having this conversation. It's happening, it's
here, there's nothing even close to a legal framework for it yet, but this is
just one new facet of a massive shift we're witnessing. Like the internet,
drones and autonomous vehicles may have been born of the defense world, but
they'll truly come of age in the civilian world.

This is just another little taster of the wild ride we're in for.

~~~
electromagnetic
I'm pretty certain there'll be many an unexpected incident when/if people
start up something like Tacocopter. Specifically, how many drones you're going
to lose to seagulls and hawks tackling them for food.

You'd be talking custom made machines, because you just know some idiot is
going to hook a box of chow mien noodles onto the skid of a robocopter and
it'll get dive-bombed by a pigeon and land on someone's wind shield in the
middle of rush hour traffic.

The problem that robotic helicopters, and other flying devices, are going to
face is that they're legally liable for anything they damage below them if
something falls. When you're 50' up, you don't want to be dropping a single
thing over a roadway or side walk. It also brings up the questions of
insurance, registration (to ensure all UAV's flying are insured and
maintained) and more, because any accidents have the potential to be equal to
a motor vehicle accident in terms of personal injury claim.

Operators literally have to have no choice to make sure there's the ability
for them to get sued for accidents/drops, otherwise municipalities will
quickly outlaw them and once that happens it's going to be decades before
those municipalities change their minds.

~~~
joering2
> I'm pretty certain there'll be many an unexpected incident when/if people
> start up something like Tacocopter.

so what? there are thousands of car accidents and deaths every year that
doesnt stop majority from riding. What OP did is open my eyes on something I
didnt think of before. Imagine a crowded city, like NY where 5 feet above your
head there are hundreds of drones like bees flying everywhere and delivering
goods: food, small mail, lighweight groceries, etc. That would be great win
for problems with traffic in big cities. Mother Earth would appreciate that
too. Awesome idea OP.

EDIT: you could also have personal delivery done this way, something like
"electronic mail pigeon". You attach your lighweight package and you send it
across the city. Of course we would need to minimum probability of accidents.
Most likely software used would have to be governmet-approved/tested and you
would have to have a license to be a part of "lightweight transportation
channel" that flows above the city. But this is totally doable!

~~~
mortenjorck
> _Imagine a crowded city, like NY where 5 feet above your head there are
> hundreds of drones like bees flying everywhere and delivering goods: food,
> small mail, lighweight groceries, etc._

Excellent visualization. You've nailed the kind of socio-infrastructural
change this shift could lead to.

------
bigiain
Won't be able to compete long distance with the Alameda Weehawken Burrito
Tunnel:

[http://www.idlewords.com/2007/04/the_alameda-
weehawken_burri...](http://www.idlewords.com/2007/04/the_alameda-
weehawken_burrito_tunnel.htm)

~~~
sidww2
You do know that's fake, right?

~~~
eridius
Whoosh.

------
beambot
To quote Chris Anderson, CEO of DIYdrones and Editor-in-chief at wired:

 _Did you know the word "gullible" isn't in the dictionary?_

 _Sigh. Prepare for loads of credulous coverage, matching the wave of
reporting on the Pirate Bay's stoned suggestion that "we're going to use,
er....GPS drones!....to file-trade from the sky. With Raspberry Pi."_

[http://diydrones.com/profiles/blogs/did-you-know-the-word-
gu...](http://diydrones.com/profiles/blogs/did-you-know-the-word-gullible-isn-
t-in-the-dictionary)

~~~
skeletonjelly
Thanks for putting me in check, remind me next time I dream about the future.

~~~
beambot
No, no... it's _good_ to dream about the future. I suggest heading over to
DIYdrones, grab some hardware, and help create the future rather than reading
about "credulous" projects.

There are plenty of _real_ efforts underway to use UAV's in a similar fashion
-- for example, to deliver medications in disaster-stricken areas [1] and for
building construction [2]. We all have very little time and attention. I
simply suggest that we allocate it wisely.

[1] Matternet, a Singularity University spinoff -- <http://matternet.net/>

[2] ETH researchers use UAV's to build 6-meter tower --
[http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/diy/video-
watch-...](http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/diy/video-watch-flying-
robots-build-a-6-meter-tower)

------
hornbaker
The domain is registered to Star Simpson of MIT, formerly notorious for this
story: <http://boingboing.net/2007/09/21/mit-student-arrested.html>

~~~
rms
Star's totally legit, definitely makes me update towards at least some tacos
being delivered by drone, though I doubt there's intention to make this
serious business.

~~~
hornbaker
Damn straight she's legit: <http://starsimpson.com/>

~~~
jwarzech
Wow, she has a pretty impressive catalog of executing on ideas (even the
bizarre/wacky).

------
algoshift
I've been flying model airplanes, helicopters and other RC contraptions since
I was 10 years old. Decades. I've flown, designed and built nearly everything
out there, from pure (no motor) gliders to aerobatic planes, electric and
turbine jets, helicopters and multi-copters --even an occasional RC blimp. One
of my favorites are very high power-to-weight ratio 2 meter-ish gliders with
thousands of watts of power. They go straight-up like a rocket and reach
incredible speeds, well in excess of 100 miles per hour (youtube: F5B glider).

The preface is to say: I get it. I do it. I love it. And, I'll probably stay
in this hobby forever. Having kids has a way to help with that.

Having said that, I also understand, in no uncertain terms, just how dangerous
this stuff can be. I have seen many nasty accidents first hand. A small
propeller spinning at 5K or 10K RPM can shred a hand or a face in horrific
ways.

The idea of toy drones flying around town is a scary one. The FAA is right in
wanting to exercise restraint and gradually walk into a sensible set of rules.
The have been working very closely with the RC flight community in order to
understand the needs and voice their concern as well:

<http://www.modelaircraft.org/aboutama/gov.aspx>

I love the idea of small inexpensive drones coming online to help firefighting
efforts, disaster aid and such needs. Still, it has to be done right and it
has to be done with safety in mind.

Small inexpensive model aircraft, even when they cost thousands of dollars,
are not designed to the same strict engineering standards of full-scale
aircraft in general aviation. Most of these devices suffer from catastrophic
single-point failures in their designs. None of them are put through strict
process control during manufacturing to ensure that such mundane things as
cracked or "cold" solder joints don't creep into a batch. None of them are
made with conformal or environmental coatings applied to circuitry. Not one of
them uses rugged, vibration and environmentally-tested hardware, boards,
wiring, connectors and batteries.

As an example of this, a prominent motor controller manufacturer recently
produced designs that started to violently catch on fire and even blow-up
under varied conditions. They have been reported to catch fire by simply
plugging in a battery or in the middle of a flight. In a lot of cases people
have lost helicopters costing thousands of dollars to this particular problem.
However, in most cases, because the activity took place within the confines of
AMA model aircraft flying fields not one person seems to have been hurt and no
property (other than the model and electronics) was damaged.

Did you know that the LiPo (Lithium Polymer) battery packs these models use
can also spontaneously catch fire and explode? YouTube search: "LiPo fire"

It's exciting to think of these little things flying about and doing all kinds
of things for us. The reality, I think, is as far away as building a C3PO that
actually works as it does in the movie. OK, maybe not that far, but nowhere
close to reality. The legal and liability hurdles alone are massive.

Can someone make a quadcopter that can safely and reliably fly around
buildings in a city with an acceptably low probability of failure, redundancy
and solid engineering? Sure. But it isn't going to be anything like these
little toys we are seeing in hundreds upon hundreds of youtube demos.

I believe that, once the FAA has a chance to sort this out there will be
really good opportunities for very high quality, professionally designed
drones. It'll be a few years though. And rightly so.

~~~
arturadib
Similar stuff could be said to Henry Ford about cars back in the early 1900s
("What? You want us to zip around town with a vehicle full of GASOLINE? Yeah
right...").

This is a truly revolutionary idea, one that has so many different positive
side-effects (reduce traffic congestion, reduce pollution, faster deliveries,
cheaper mailing costs, etc). It needs to be pushed forward by visionaries,
folks who really believe in it.

Yes, they'll have to be a little crazy. Yes, they'll likely have to deal with
setbacks.

But if they persist and succeed, their name just might one day be written in
history books.

~~~
moheeb
Delivering tacos with RC helicopters is a revolutionary idea?

I believe you misspelled evolutionary. Inventing a helicopter was a
revolutionary idea (pun!), and coming up with a delivery model for food
consumption may have been a revolutionary idea, but combining the two
definitely is not.

This is basically a sky lawnmower with a taco hanging below it. Seems kinda
dangerous.

~~~
sokoloff
Combinations of ideas is not revolutionary? Or just that this specific
combination is not?

Carriages and Internal Combustion Engines -> Automobiles

Telephones and Radios -> Cell Phones

Touch Screens and Cell Phones -> iPhone

~~~
moheeb
Try rereading the comment you replied to. It speaks of the combination of a
remote control helicopter and food delivery not being revolutionary.

So to sum it up....just this specific combination is not revolutionary.

------
srik
When I talked about making quadcopters to my friend, the first thing that
popped into his head was something similar. He was thinking about making small
weed delivery copters. that was actually a very good idea; not suggestible at
all ofcourse.

------
RandallBrown
I can't tell if this is for real or not, but I'm praying that it is and it
comes to Seattle.

~~~
sown
It's like there should be a Poe's Law but for technology.

------
druiid
I'm uhh... guessing this is a joke, but if it isn't... they'd do brisk
business in San Diego!

~~~
ars
Probably a joke since the batteries last around 15 minutes, especially when
carrying a load.

It would be amazing if real though. Maybe someone can make a hydrocarbon
powered version that would actually have enough range. It would use less fuel
than a car, and get there faster to boot.

Startup idea?

~~~
bri3d
Something like a quadshot [0] should be more efficient for this task - use
quadrotors for the VTOL ability, but convert to far more power-efficient wing
for flying at speed.

I think it'd be possible to build a large quadshot-esque quadrotor -> flying
wing device that would have the 1-3 mile range and ~500gr non-battery payload
capacity necessary for taco delivery.

[0]: <http://thequadshot.com>

------
gaahrdner
Pretty funny, I think the LobsterCopter gave the joke away.

~~~
joe8756438
be sure to check out the lobstercopter band

------
forgottenpaswrd
In the south of Spain it would be an impossible business. Once I get into a
library to return a book, entering the library I saw a bicycle attached to the
wall, when I went out of the library I saw the chain cut and the bicycle gone
with some parts of it in the floor. It was shocking how fast everything went,
it is like you look at something, then look away for a moment and then its
gone.

In Spain gitanos will learn how to pilot UAVs (or "fish" them) in a blink of
an eye.

~~~
phreeza
I am always shocked by the blatant racism even educated and otherwise "normal"
Spanish people display towards Gitanos.

~~~
rickmb
I am always shocked by the fact that people equate a negative view of
Roma/Gitanos with racism.

Disliking a parasitic culture that fosters the notion that it is okay to steal
from "others" is not racism since it a) has nothing to do with race but
culture, and b) it's based on fact, not prejudice.

------
Arelius
This is something I need in my life! Tacos delivered via flying robot. Could
you imagine getting the delivery while at Dolores park?

------
Palomides
how fast can a quadcopter fly, how far, and how much can it carry? seems like
this would only work well in limited contexts, like, say, small deliveries on
a particular campus or within a single large building or complex. not to be a
complete nay-sayer, but the limits of battery tech are a bit harder to
overcome than most software problems.

~~~
lwat
A $2000 drone can carry around 4 pounds and fly maybe 20 miles. More
expensive, bigger drones can do significantly better.

------
asynchronous13
Last mile delivery will eventually be a huge market for UAVs. Think beyond
just tacos -- think about anything that people would pay a premium for to have
it delivered to them. Out of milk? No problem. Need your prescription filled?
Delivered to your GPS coordinates. Condom delivery? FedEx?

The technology is there. The regulations need to catch up.

~~~
lwat
Probably easier to allow small robots on the roads or sidewalks, running
around delivering pizza or whatever.

~~~
asynchronous13
Oddly, the technical challenge of sending a ground robot through an unknown
dynamic environment is even more difficult than a flying robot. There's very
few obstacles in the sky. Another thing to consider is petty theft and
vandalism. Maybe I'm jaded, but I think a ground robot would not last very
long. With an aerial vehicle, packages can be dropped with parachutes.
(though, I'm pretty sure some will be shot down before they're generally
accepted)

------
InclinedPlane
I don't know if this is real, but this totally justifies the risk of the
inevitable quad-copter robot uprising.

------
EREFUNDO
Sometimes no matter how stupid the idea seems at first if it's executed
brilliantly it might just work!....lol

------
Cyndre
The biggest issue I see is tacocopter naping. Order a $3 taco, get some lunch
and a free drone.

~~~
stephengillie
The biggest issue I see is random hackers ordering a taco then putting a "TPB
Transponder[1]" on several of these. The tacocopter then does double duty as
an airborne server.

[1] Theoretical easy-to-deploy Android or Raspberry Pi-sized wifi-broadcasting
device, to broadcast TPB magnet links.

------
hef19898
Nice idea. Only one remark: Anyone has ever seen the dicrepancy between the
concepts of new aircrafts and the things that actually fly? Aviation is one of
the most conservative industries I know, and for a good reason considering the
fact one accident kills probably hundreds of people at once. You can argue
that some regulations are more on the red tape side, but most of them are here
for good reason. If I were a start-up, I would rather follow these regulations
or have really deep pockets AND official support if I dont't, like SpaceX for
example. That said, I'm not sure if it is for real or not... Funny idea having
a flying delivery claptrap bringing you your tacos :-)

------
redthrowaway
Stoners Rejoice! The Future is Now!

This will eventually happen, though. That means the FAA's going to have to
come up with some pretty strict regulations to force manufacturers and
operators to ensure their bots don't crash into things/people.

------
jtchang
Imagine landing pads on the top of every house/city. They would look like
giant targets used for this copters to land. There could be one within a few
meters of where you currently are.

You place an order on your cell phone. The copters immediately go to work
delivering whatever you needed. A SMS would alert you that your goods have
arrived. Maybe there would be secure drop zones where a giant chute would
automatically route your package into a secure locker. You would open the
locker with your cell phone.

Okay I will stop dreaming now.

~~~
Finbarr
Finally a practical use of QR codes? Each landing pad could have some
information embedded via QR to help the copter to distinguish them from one
another.

~~~
ngokevin
Until I forge your QR code and enjoy your delicious tacos.

~~~
whatusername
Or until I fill your QR Code target drop-zone with dog-poop in a paper bag.

------
kolinko
My new startup - Taco Pirates. Hunting down taco drones.

------
asciilifeform
Nah, everybody knows that drones can only be used to deliver drugs and bombs.

Commercial UAVs being illegal in the US, "might as well hang for a sheep as
for a lamb."

------
sebastianavina
So, I can steal a Bot for the price of a taco order?

~~~
erohead
One word - parachutes

~~~
kaens
Three words - Tacos in puddles.

------
matdwyer
Imagine your mail could be delivered to you like this?

Something tells me Amazon will run with this in 10 years and take USPS/Canada
Post/etc out of business

------
Retreads
AKA: Quadrocopters - Flying Robots Deliver Themselves To You!

With all the crazy scamming I've experienced on places like Craigslist, I
can't imagine there wouldn't be some jerk that would just start taking the
vehicles. Even if there's some type of visual/tracking, they'd figure it out.
How many tacos would have to be delivered to deal with that kind of shrinkage?

------
yeahsure
Whoa! I was daydreaming about this exact same thing (Except it was pizza
instead of tacos). I thought they should have a small box that hangs from them
so they could drag the box down with a small thread in order to avoid
accidents with the propellers. Anyway, awesome idea, hope to see this legally
in the near future :-)

~~~
jwarzech
They attempted this in small form on 'Marcel's Quantum Kitchen' (its on
Netflix) using a toy quadcoptor to 'deliver' a piece of pizza at a dinner
party. Didn't really work out to well but interesting concept nonetheless.

------
mikemoka
Ok so, how could they protect a UAV from thieves? Anyone could jam the remote
control signal or use a net to block it on the ground.They could add an
effective gps based alarm and insure the drones,this is a real problem though,
only while UAVs are still quite expensive imo

------
nathan_f77
I've been planning to build a quad-rotor to deliver food and beverages around
my house, but I never thought that idea could turn into a delivery startup.

I can't tell if this is a joke (?), but the technology is definitely available
to make it happen.

~~~
bigiain
That's probably easier than it might seem. "Balancing" the drinks might seem
like a hard problem to solve…

[http://www.diydrones.com/profiles/blogs/why-doesnt-the-
ball-...](http://www.diydrones.com/profiles/blogs/why-doesnt-the-ball-fall-
off)

------
qq66
This idea is currently illegal since FAA regulations restrict unmanned
multirotor aircraft from any commercial activities, although they are in the
process of changing these rules. So it might go from joke to reality :)

------
erohead
They had a more awesome version of the site up earlier this week.

------
feralmoan
TacoCopter has really incentivize for me, a Taco-centric dietary pivot. It's
advanced culinary airborne delivery agent is HUGELY disruptive. I can tell by
the screams!

------
abend
Apparently this doesn't really exist.

<http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/03/qa-with-tacocopter/>

------
duaneb
If this were to happen, I'm imagining tacocopternapping.

------
colbyh
Though obviously a joke this is the sort of thing that I'd support breaking
the law for. Disrupt the land-based food delivery establishment.

------
Apocryphon
Wasn't there a story last year about a similar service for delivering
sandwiches?

~~~
grok2
<https://themelt.com>?

------
jbigelow76
Tacocopter - Skynet's more benevolent, munchie abating little brother.

------
ParadisoShlee_
Id rather just install Pneumatic tubes everywhere, Tacotubes!

------
Maven911
I am suprised no one has called an outright FAKE on this!

------
jaylin
Watch out for the taco bandit flying robots tho.

------
philjackson
My next startup will be air rifle sales in SF.

------
pkh80
April fools jokes starting early this year?

------
littlemerman
This a a sign of the coming techpocalypse.

------
donaldc
I hope that thing is reasonably quiet.

------
ditojim
i hope this means they can deliver to my balcony. that would be baller.

------
jaequery
would make a great alternative to duck-hunting

------
egallardo
Of course it's real. I want my tacos brought from LA though..

------
wavephorm
This sounds like sci-fi but I think we're not far from being able to do this.
I think the entire Postal system could be replaced with UAV's. Why deliver
mail by hand when robots would clearly be better and could work 24/7 and not
go crazy. Food delivery maybe doesn't have the profit margins to do it yet,
but eventually it will.

------
cma
Pretty scary--the same tech could "deliver" a pistol, which then delivers a
bullet more or less just as easily.

~~~
meepmorp
It's a good thing we haven't yet invented drones that can shoot a missile at
you.

~~~
aaronblohowiak
Many of these are equipped with armaments:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unmanned_aerial_vehicl...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unmanned_aerial_vehicles#United_States)

They are in active use today:
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drone_attacks_in_Pakistan>

~~~
prawn
Just quietly, I think you missed the joke. (Upvoting you to relieve any
downvote damage because there are worse mistakes than being too informative!)

~~~
aaronblohowiak
sorry, was stuck in hyper-literal programming mode :-)

