Latest news with #SNAFU
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Amazon's Delivery Drones Are Crashing, and We Finally Know Why
Amazon, the multi-trillion dollar e-commerce monolith, seemingly cheaped out on on a key feature installed on its six-propeller delivery drones. Predictably, this backfired almost immediately. On a (lightly) rainy December day at the company's testing range in Oregon, not one but two Prime Air drones suddenly stopped spinning their propellers mid-flight and plummeted some 200 feet to the ground. The crashes, which destroyed both aircraft, happened within minutes of each other. And now, Bloomberg reports, we know why. According to documents from the National Transportation Safety Board, bad readings from the drones' onboard lidar sensors led the drones to believe they had already landed. Their software, thinking it was on solid ground, cluelessly cut off power to the propellers. But that's not all. After Amazon decided to remove them, the drones no longer had backup sensors that were equipped on older versions. And these probably would've prevented the drones from shutting down, per Bloomberg's sources. Amazon denies this line of thinking. "Bloomberg's reporting is misleading," an Amazon spokesperson told the newspaper. "Statements that assume that replacing one system with another would have prevented an accident in the past is irresponsible." Per the NTSB documents, a botched software update made the lidar sensors more susceptible to being thrown off by rain. Lidar is short for light detection and ranging, a form of technology that uses lasers to scan surroundings in a similar manner to radar. A glitch may have been the main reason, but it definitely sounds like it could've been easily avoidable had Amazon kept the redundant system from its previous drone, the MK27. The backup sensors came in the form of two metal prongs on the bottom of the drone called squat switches. When the drone lands, the switches are depressed, providing confirmation that it's on solid ground. A source told Bloomberg that the MK27 drone's software was originally designed to confirm a landing only when two of its three sensors agreed. This was removed with the MK30, and it's unclear why. Reducing costs could be one reason, and it's not uncommon to remove redundant systems to streamline a device. It could also be because of a shift in how Amazon intends to deliver packages with its drones, according to a Bloomberg source. The MK27 was designed to make deliveries by landing in a customer's yard, with enclosed propellers to make them safer. The MK30 moved away from this and drops packages from around a dozen feet in the air. This is far from the only setback Amazon has faced during its drone development, which it first announced back in 2013. In 2021, a drone crash sparked an acres-wide blaze in Oregon, and outside of incidents like that, many residents living where the drones are being trialed simply find them annoying. After the latest December SNAFU, Amazon halted future experiments for months — though it maintained that the crashes weren't the "primary reason" — and only recently lifted the pause. Overall, development has been sluggish and the project remains years behind schedule. Currently, Amazon is only carrying out drone deliveries in College Station, Texas, and Tolleson, Arizona. More on Amazon: The NYPD Is Sending Drones to the Sites of 9-1-1 Calls
Axios
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Axios
Things to do in the Boston area, 4/28 - 5/03
All week 🖌️ Qi Baishi: Inspiration in Ink – Museum of Fine Arts – ongoing Explore the 160th anniversary of Qi Baishi's birth with nearly 40 exquisite works on display. Thursday, May 1 📚 Shubha Sunder – Harvard Book Store – 7pm Award-winning author Shubha Sunder discusses her debut novel "Optional Practical Training" in conversation with Michelle Min Sterling. Sunday, May 4 🎤 Ed Helms: SNAFU Live – WBUR CitySpace – 6:30pm Actor and comedian Ed Helms presents his new book "SNAFU," exploring history's greatest blunders, inspired by his hit podcast.
Yahoo
03-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Ofcom Weighs In On ‘Gaza: How to Survive A Warzone' Row: Tells BBC It Has 'Ongoing Concerns About The Nature & Gravity Of These Failings'
Ofcom has taken a tough line on the BBC's Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone SNAFU and said it could intervene if necessary. Ofcom has written and published a letter to BBC Chair Samir Shah this morning. For what many deem to be a light touch regulator, it did not hold back, communicating 'ongoing concerns about the nature and gravity of these failings and the negative impact they have on the trust audiences place in the BBC's journalism.' More from Deadline 'Doctor Who' Trailer Teases Killer Cartoons, Interstellar Song Contest & New Companion In Season 2 International Insider: London's New-Look TV Week; Charlotte Moore Shocker; Ukraine & Gaza In Spotlight BBC Unscripted Supremo Kate Phillips Takes On Interim Content Chief Role Following Shock Charlotte Moore Exit Announcement The BBC is investigating the saga, which erupted around 10 days ago after it emerged that the Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone documentary was narrated by the son of a Hamas minister. Ofcom today said it could still step in if it is not satisfied with how the BBC is going about things. 'We will continue to keep the situation under close review and will expect regular updates from the BBC regarding both timeframes and progress and reserve the right to use our powers to step in should we feel it necessary to do so, given that the BBC Board has decided these to be internal investigations,' added the letter, which was penned by Ofcom Chair Michael Grade, a former BBC One Controller and BBC Chair. Ofcom said it is crucial that the 'causes of those errors are investigated, and that systems are put in place to ensure they can not recur.' Russell Brand reviewer Peter Johnston is leading the BBC's probe. In an extraordinary statement last week, the BBC said the producers of the doc, HOYO Films, and its director Jamie Roberts, were aware of the narrator's links to Hamas and kept this information from the corporation. On commissioning the in-depth review, the BBC said it identified serious flaws in the doc, with some of the flaws made by the production company and some the responsibility of the BBC. The doc has proved enormously controversial and has attracted open letters from both sides of the debate along with stern criticism from Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy. Tomorrow, Shah alongside Director General Tim Davie will go up in front of the UK's Culture, Media & Sport Committee, and this row will top the agenda. Shah, a former BBC current affairs boss, is understood to be frustrated at the way in which the situation has been handled so far. Best of Deadline How To Watch Sean Baker's Oscar-Winner 'Anora': Streaming, For Rent And More Every Oscars Best Animated Feature Winner Since 2002 How To Watch The Oscars Online And On TV
