> I'd imagine the same way it's done today, the same way USPS/UPS handles packages - by dropping them on my porch and hoping my neighbors are honest.
These drones have a 10 miles range, I would guess they are intended for densely populated metropolitan areas where it is viable to have a closeby Amazon warehouse. So in most cases simply there is no porch.
From careful research (watching Friends and How I Met Your Mother) I've learned that all New Yorkers have access to a romantic roof-space. That would be a rather superior alternative to porches.
Which does make me wonder how much better this plan would be than using, say, motorcycle couriers.
If the story had been - 'Amazon to deploy motor bikes to deliver packages within 10 miles of their distribution centre' it'd have received a lot less attention.
Packages are routinely delivered quickly, accurately, securely and cheaply in urban areas. I do think Amazon are solving a problem that doesn't exist. Nice bit of PR though.
Motorcycle couriers are comparatively very expensive - a 10 mile delivery is easily half an hour of real human time (plus gas, wear, etc). It might be "cheap" if they're delivering $50 of (high margin) pizza, but less so if they're delivering a single book. That's the problem they're trying to solve - delivering small items quickly and cheaply.
You can hit most of a medium-sized metro area from a 10-mile radius. NYC and cities like it are exceptional; most metros have an abundance of single-family homes with porches and backyards, even just a mile or so from the central business district.
Amazon would not need a full-fledged distribution center as a drone base. Orders received by, say, 10am could be put on a truck from a distribution center that's an hour or two's drive from the center of the metro area. The truck goes to the drone base in the middle of town and unloads. You can still deliver before 5pm.
Having a drone drop my package on my fire escape would be far better than dropping it on the street. Lots of New Yorkers have trouble getting packages (well, those not rich enough for doormen). Being able to specify a dropoff point would be fantastic. Shit, I'll build a little drone landing pad if I have to.
These drones have a 10 miles range, I would guess they are intended for densely populated metropolitan areas where it is viable to have a closeby Amazon warehouse. So in most cases simply there is no porch.