Science Fiction Dictionary
A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

 

QuiQui Pharmacy Drone Delivery

The new QuiQui (pronounced "quickie") delivery service and associated app will provide fast (FAST) delivery service of pharmacy items in San Francisco's Mission District starting this summer. Why so fast? QuiQui uses a fleet of autonomous drones to deliver the goods.


(Quiqui app soon coming via drone!)

According to the QuiQui website, most orders can be dropped off within fifteen minutes. Beat that, Amazon! Or even Sina Weibo plus Taobao!

Is all this legal?
It most certainly is. Recently the FAA lost a lawsuit allowing it to ban commercial drones. Additionally, full size aircraft must maintain 500 feet from populated places and landmarks. Our drones fly below 500 feet AGL, and nowhere near airports.

Why only drug store items?
Unfortunately, it's not commercially viable for drones to transport larger things yet. We chose pharmacy items because they're typically very small and easy to transport.

What if something goes wrong?
Our drones have patent pending software to mitigate their damage in the event of catastrophic failure. If you accidentally drop your order in a tree, we can help you with that too.

Have any of the drones started looking for Jon Connor?
No. Our drones are aware of many things, but "self awareness" is not on our feature list.

Glad to see that QuiQui has a sense of humor.

EB White wrote an excellent short fiction work for The New Yorker magazine in 1950 titled The Morning of the Day They Did It, describing among other things space platforms (he appears to have coined the phrase). However, he also described a diaper delivery system via helicopter - the Diaheliper:

It seems there had been a low-altitude collision between two small planes... One plane was a Diaheliper, belonging to an aerial diaper service that flew diapers to rural homes by helicopter.

From QuiQui.

Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 3/19/2014)

Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.

| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |

Would you like to contribute a story tip? It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add it here.

Comment/Join discussion ( 1 )

Related News Stories - (" Robotics ")

Mushroom 'Robot' Is Just A Start
'Some unknown race ... decided to help them out.'

Biohybrid Robot Combines Living Muscle With Artificial Materials
'...great rectangular slabs of muscle, slung into a rectangular frame.' - Jack Vance, 1967.

Biohybrid Robots Made Of Living And Synthetic Materials
'If the biological robots were not living creatures, they were certainly very good imitations.' - Arthur C. Clarke, 1972.

P1 Just The Latest Robot To Take A Beating From Humans
'...we mere people come second.'

 

Google
  Web TechNovelgy.com   

Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.

 

 

 

 

Science Fiction Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's   1950's
1960's   1970's
1980's   1990's
2000's   2010's

Current News

Mushroom 'Robot' Is Just A Start
'Some unknown race ... decided to help them out.'

Tesla Electric 'Giga Train' Operational In Germany
'...the cars are wedge-shaped at both ends.'

DOTPad Braille Device Offers Live Access
Amazing tactile display.

Biohybrid Robot Combines Living Muscle With Artificial Materials
'...great rectangular slabs of muscle, slung into a rectangular frame.'

Biohybrid Robots Made Of Living And Synthetic Materials
'If the biological robots were not living creatures, they were certainly very good imitations.'

Drug Induces Hibernation-Like State In Humans
'... drugged and chilled and stowed in sleep tanks.'

Poul Anderson's 'Brain Wave'
"Everybody and his dog, it seemed, wanted to live out in the country; transportation and communication were no longer isolating factors."

AI Note-Taking From Google Meet
'... the new typewriter that could be talked to, and which transposed the spoken sound into typed words.'

Qore IcePlates Are Personal Cooling Suits
'... underneath they consisted of networks of cooling tubes against the skin.'

P1 Just The Latest Robot To Take A Beating From Humans
'...we mere people come second.'

Waymo Cars Shout At Each Other, Autonomously
'My cars talk to one another. I have no doubt about it...'

Your Solar Electric Paint Is Ready, Larry Niven
'...you spray it on.'

How Long Till We Have These Tattoos?
Truth or fiction?

Seeing Faces On Grains Of Sand (AI Pareidolia)
'... the imprint of her image on the telephoto cell.'

Lunar Biorepository Proposed For Cryo-Preservation Of Earth Species
'...there was no one alive who had ever seen them. But they existed in the Life Bank.'

Tele-Driving Offers Jobs For Tele-Drivers, Not AIs
''...some bored drone pusher in a remote driving centre...'

More SF in the News Stories

More Beyond Technovelgy science news stories

Home | Glossary | Invention Timeline | Category | New | Contact Us | FAQ | Advertise |
Technovelgy.com - where science meets fiction™

Copyright© Technovelgy LLC; all rights reserved.