{"id":19196,"date":"2016-10-23T21:48:33","date_gmt":"2016-10-23T13:48:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/video-jeff-bezos-shares-big-ideas-from-amazons-drone-landing-pads-to-a-10000-year-clock\/"},"modified":"2016-10-23T21:48:33","modified_gmt":"2016-10-23T13:48:33","slug":"video-jeff-bezos-shares-big-ideas-from-amazons-drone-landing-pads-to-a-10000-year-clock","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/video-jeff-bezos-shares-big-ideas-from-amazons-drone-landing-pads-to-a-10000-year-clock\/","title":{"rendered":"Video: Jeff Bezos shares big ideas, from Amazon\u2019s drone landing pads to a 10,000-year clock"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_283942\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-283942\" style=\"width: 630px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-283942 size-full-width\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/161023-bezos1-630x618.jpg\" alt=\"161023-bezos1\" width=\"630\" height=\"618\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/161023-bezos1-630x618.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/161023-bezos1-768x754.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/161023-bezos1-1240x1217.jpg 1240w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" id=\"caption-attachment-283942\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos shows off a tortoise cufflink during the Pathfinder Awards banquet at Seattle\u2019s Museum of Flight. The tortoise symbolizes the approach Bezos takes with his Blue Origin space venture. \u201cWe believe slow is smooth, and smooth is fast,\u201d he says. (Credit: Tania Shepard \/ Azzura Photography)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Someday, you\u2019ll be printing out a landing pad to guide an Amazon drone to its delivery, or maybe taking a suborbital space trip on a Blue Origin rocket ship, or marveling over the mechanism of a clock designed to run for 10,000 years.<\/p>\n<p>Such were the visions laid out by Amazon\u2019s billionaire founder, Jeff Bezos, on Saturday night&nbsp;as he received one of this year\u2019s Pathfinder Awards from the Museum of Flight.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_283946\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-283946\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-283946\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/20161022_Pathfinder_Awards_179-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"Addison Pemberton\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/20161022_Pathfinder_Awards_179-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/20161022_Pathfinder_Awards_179-630x420.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/20161022_Pathfinder_Awards_179.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" id=\"caption-attachment-283946\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Airplane restorer Addison Pemberton at the Museum of Flight\u2019s 2016 Pathfinder Awards. (Photo by GeekWire\/Kevin Lisota)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Bezos and airplane restorer Addison Pemberton, known as the \u201cGodfather of Biplanes,\u201d received the awards for their contributions to preserving the past and building the future of flight.<\/p>\n<p>More than 450 supporters and VIPs attended the annual black-tie award dinner, held in the T.A. Wilson Great Gallery&nbsp;beneath the wings of the museum\u2019s Blackbird spy plane.<\/p>\n<p>Although Bezos\u2019 most lucrative \u201cday job\u201d is to lead America\u2019s biggest online retailer, he acknowledged that his fortune&nbsp;\u2013 currently estimated at more than $70 billion \u2013 is meant to serve a higher purpose. Literally.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAmazon has been kind of a lottery winning for me,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd by the way, the Amazon winnings are what I\u2019m using on Blue Origin. So those winnings are going into developing space.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Aerospace plays a part in a wide range of Bezos\u2019 pursuits, including Amazon\u2019s future. Here\u2019s a video rundown of the&nbsp;high points from his talk:<\/p>\n<h3>Delivery by drone<\/h3>\n<p><iframe title=\"Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos shares his vision for package delivery with Prime Air drones.\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/6WYrPSYqEXE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\" data-ratio=\"0.5625\" data-width=\"800\" data-height=\"450\" style=\"display: block; margin: 0px; width: 800px; height: 450px;\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Bezos said Amazon\u2019s efforts to develop fleets of drones for package deliveries are proceeding apace \u2013&nbsp;with a farm in the English countryside near Cambridge serving as the main testing ground.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re getting really good cooperation from the British equivalent of the FAA, the CAA,\u201d Bezos said. \u201cIt\u2019s incredible. It\u2019s really cool.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Deployment of the drones depends not only on Amazon\u2019s progress, but on approvals from the Federal Aviation Administration, Britain\u2019s Civil Aviation Administration and other regulatory agencies around the world.<\/p>\n<p>When the robotic aircraft go into operation, they\u2019ll be able to fly at speeds of more than 50 mph with a 20-mile range.&nbsp;The system is designed to deliver packages weighing less than 5 pounds, a weight range that&nbsp;Amazon says covers 86 percent of the products it sells.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s going to work really well in one of the hardest neighborhoods \u2014 urban, dense suburban neighborhoods,\u201d he said. \u201cYou just need a landing field. And if you have a landing field, you can mark it with a symbol which you can print out on your printer and put wherever you want the vehicle to land.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The drone will be programmed to recognize the symbol on the printout and drop its package in the landing zone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf it sees anything that makes it nervous, it can divert, or phone home for help and get a human to help it land,\u201d Bezos said.<\/p>\n<h3>Amazon Prime Air<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on their Prime Air cargo aircraft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/8SZqH70y4xo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\" data-ratio=\"0.5625\" data-width=\"800\" data-height=\"450\" style=\"display: block; margin: 0px; width: 800px; height: 450px;\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Amazon is already using a more conventional&nbsp;type&nbsp;of flying machine to deliver its packages. The company\u2019s first branded Boeing 767&nbsp;cargo&nbsp;jet was unveiled in August, and more planes&nbsp;are being added regularly.<\/p>\n<p>The company plans to build up a 40-plane Amazon Prime Air fleet to supplement cargo transport services provided by the likes of UPS and FedEx.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTwenty-one years ago, when I started the company, I was delivering all the packages to the post office myself,\u201d Bezos recalled. \u201cI was hoping that one day we\u2019d be able to afford a fork lift. So it\u2019s a very big change in a very short period of time. I feel incredibly lucky for a whole bunch of reasons, and that\u2019s one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Space trips on Blue Origin<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Jeff Bezos discusses space flight and his vision for Blue Origin\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/VNwE3sRWxHw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\" data-ratio=\"0.5625\" data-width=\"800\" data-height=\"450\" style=\"display: block; margin: 0px; width: 800px; height: 450px;\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>After a string of successful test flights to space and back, Blue Origin is on track to start flying test astronauts on suborbital trips at its West Texas launch facility late next year, Bezos said. That will set the stage for paying passengers to get on board in 2018.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s going well,\u201d said Bezos, who founded the space venture in 2000.<\/p>\n<p>Blue Origin hasn\u2019t yet started taking reservations. The company hasn\u2019t even announced what the ticket price will be. Nevertheless, Bezos picked up some new prospects&nbsp;at the awards banquet.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019ve got a whole table&nbsp;of Boeing test pilots who want to get in line over there,\u201d said emcee Steve Taylor, who\u2019s the chief pilot for Boeing Flight Services. \u201cI told them the line forms behind me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Blue Origin has said that customers who buy tickets on the New Shepard suborbital space vehicle will get preferred access when the company\u2019s New Glenn orbital spaceship is ready for passengers.<\/p>\n<h3>10,000-year clock<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos talks about the 10,000 year clock he is building\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/cSHwC0gXKQs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\" data-ratio=\"0.5625\" data-width=\"800\" data-height=\"450\" style=\"display: block; margin: 0px; width: 800px; height: 450px;\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>One of the longest-range projects on Bezos\u2019 radar screen is the&nbsp;10,000-year&nbsp;Clock of the Long Now, a project conceived by inventor Danny Hillis. Thanks to a $42 million&nbsp;contribution from Bezos, the&nbsp;clock is being built inside a mountain on his property in West Texas, not far from Blue Origin\u2019s launch site.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s actually a big team working on this now,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Eventually, the project\u2019s organizers plan to build several clocks capable of running 10,000 years, to be placed in sheltered locations around the world. \u201cThe idea is, it\u2019s a symbol of long-term thinking,\u201d Bezos explained.<\/p>\n<p>Just knowing such a clock exists could help humanity change its perspective on problems ranging from world hunger to interplanetary migration.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe fact of the matter is, we humans are getting so technologically capable that we need to think longer-term,\u201d Bezos said. \u201cTen thousand years ago, we really couldn\u2019t do very much damage. I think 100 years from now, 500 years from now, we\u2019re going to be able to do quite a bit of damage \u2026 and do great things. I\u2019m super optimistic. \u2026 I think we\u2019ll figure it all out. We\u2019re going to have an amazing future in the solar system.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bezos said the clock project\u2019s true significance may not sink in until centuries from now \u2013 by which time he expects his vision of millions of people living and working in space to have become a reality.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThree, or four, or five hundred years from now, people will be going, \u2018There is a 500-year-old clock in this mountain over here! Some crazy people back in the 21st century built it as a symbol of long-term thinking!&#8217;\u201d Bezos said. \u201cMaybe it\u2019ll have an effect 500 years from now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ten thousand years from now, Bezos doubts anyone will remember who were the richest people of our age, or who won which presidential election.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI do know one thing they will remember, for sure, which is the Apollo landing. \u2026 They are going to remember that that\u2019s the time when humanity first left this planet,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s going to be a big deal, even 10,000 years from now.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos shows off a tortoise cufflink during the Pathfinder Awards banquet at Seattle\u2019s Museum of Flight. The tortoise symbolizes the approach Bezos takes with his Blue Origin space venture. \u201cWe believe slow is smooth, and smooth is fast,\u201d he says. (Credit: Tania Shepard \/ Azzura Photography) Someday, you\u2019ll be printing out a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[275,5490,509,5491,4867,1046,4450,21],"class_list":["post-19196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-amazon","tag-amazon-drones","tag-blue-origin","tag-clock-of-the-long-now","tag-drones","tag-jeff-bezos","tag-museum-of-flight","tag-space"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19196"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19196"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19196\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19196"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19196"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}