6 ms·

Google-backed drones will drop library books to kids in SW Virginia

75 points by jamessun 6y ago

kayodelycaon 6y ago
I can’t help but think a car would have been a better delivery mechanism but then Google wouldn’t get much press from it. Doing “good things” just for better optics really leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
- habosa 6y ago
  Probably be cheaper in the long term to give each kid a cheap eReader with a digital library subscription too.
- agarden 6y ago
  Today, sure, using a van would be much more efficient. But this is probably a way to test and improve the technology, working towards making it more efficient than a van. More importantly, the optics here are not just about you and me and other adults. Think about it how it looks to a kid. You can have your library books show up in a van, and that might be fun, but if you could have a drone drop off your library books? What kid wouldn't sit around outside all day waiting for their books to arrive?
  - fma 6y ago
    I think we should get kids excited about reading a book through the experience the book provides, not the experience the delivery provides. In the past they used to have book mobiles, and probably still do in some areas. It's a library in a van...not like a UPS delivery where you pick a book out online and you only get that book. A book mobile is where kids can go in the van, physically touch and feel books and choose one that excites them. They can talk to other kids, talk to the librarian... At some point when drone delivery of books get boring, someone will need to invent teleportation just to get kids to read.
- dharmab 6y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bookmobile https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bookmobile
- jfoster 6y ago
  Keep in mind that Wing is a company independent of Google. You're asking a drone delivery company to start driving around in cars delivering books.
- dragonwriter 6y ago
  > I can’t help but think a car would have been a better delivery mechanism but then Google wouldn’t get much press from it. i can see a pretty obvious way that could get even more press for Google’s corporate parent, since it would be an Alphabet firm doing it directly and not merely an outside but Google-supported firm. > Doing “good things” just for better optics really leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Dissing people for doing good things just because you've ascribed to them optics as their motive leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
yardie 6y ago
This is in the county, Montgomery, where Virgina Tech is based. They have a very large UAV program there. So much so that they applied for a campus-wide FAA exemption. I think it's cool if a bit useless. But if you have a hammer, everything else is a nail. Books have been delivered electronically for decades. Electronically flying a physical book doesn't look to be our future.
- themodelplumber 6y ago
  Sometimes if you already have a hammer, you start to see ways to hit things, pry things, or pin things so that you don't have to invent or buy another tool. From this perspective, the fact that some people got together to try this isn't a surprise, it's certainly not idiocy, and being creative with existing skills and resources during a pandemic is far from a bad idea. More data and cred for drone folks, more cred and energy leverage for library folks, and more books and learning experiences for readers and learners.
- aejnsn 6y ago
  Thanks for noting this! I am from (real) SW Virginia. While this looks great as a headline--because everyone knows of SW Virginia's impoverished situation due to coal economy dependencies--Montgomery is definitely NOT the poorest county in SW VA. That's on the border of barely qualifying as "SW VA" in my opinion. I'd rather see this impact in the coalfield counties of Buchanan, Wise, Dickenson, Russell, Lee, Tazewell, etc. The trouble with those counties--regardless how much VA 9th district politicians in that area beat on about their half-measure broadband access--is simply internet access. The intent of dropping physical books is to address the internet access problem. It's a more poverty-stricken area than some realize, nearly third world.
  - eganist 6y ago
    > It's a more poverty-stricken area than some realize, nearly third world. This is immensely true of Appalachia in general (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_and_economic_stratification_in_Appalachia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_and_economic_stratifica...). Having done quite a number of roadtrips up and down I-81, the amount of destitution I've seen has never failed to break my heart. Nothing's ever changed for these people, and the foundational building blocks (infrastructure, education, etc) that they'd need in order to really climb out of poverty have been consistently delayed or disregarded. Luck plays more of a factor here than in many other parts of the United States at escaping this loop, so programs like this are heartwarming to see in that they aim to give back as part of a broader goal to advance the state of tech. Drone infrastructure and 5G are probably the two easiest shortcuts to get much of Appalachia equipped with much of what they need to catch up.
dawg- 6y ago
Wow, I would love to see some research done on this. Does drone delivery of books improve reading rates among public school children? My hypothesis: No.
- luckylion 6y ago
  That'll happen with the link to the Predator program. Read your assigned books, or else...
- themodelplumber 6y ago
  It doesn't exactly sound like goal #1 is improving reading rates. The article discusses "readers" as the main audience. Which I think is really important to understand. There are a lot of readers out there for whom the pandemic created unnecessary stress and inconvenience, students included. Personally my three kids would have used this like crazy over the last couple months, when they were stuck with whatever they could check out before the local library closed. The drone delivery is a bonus but also it would have been the only way to get books. Aside from learning and enjoyment, the book-reading sessions are converted into AR test scores and classroom-by-classroom cumulative reading word counts, which are reasonably good motivators for many.
littleweep 6y ago
This seems insane. Why not digitally deliver any e-book in a plain text instead of this pr stunt?
- themodelplumber 6y ago
  What's insane about an alignment of incentives? Drone resources were available. Physical books were going unused, while electronic copies are not exactly free. Those involved get a pat on the back via publicity. Readers get to read more. Learners get to experience a new phenomenon.
  - accountwhatever 6y ago
    "Electronic copies are not exactly free." What?
    - themodelplumber 6y ago
      Yep. You know the library has to pay extra for electronic texts, right? For example, when a patron checks out an item from Hoopla, the library is charged from $1 to $3 (or so... prices may have changed) for that transaction. This affects the number of check-outs the library grants patrons for a given month. I've seen ours vary from 3-10. And many popular titles are not available at any time. Another reason why it makes sense to leverage the physical books.
082349872349872 6y ago
For the low-tech version, see Dolly Parton's Imagination Library.
- kwhitefoot 6y ago
  > low-tech version Appropriate tech in this case. They have delivered over a a hundred million books. https://imaginationlibrary.com/news-resources/ https://imaginationlibrary.com/news-resources/
c-smile 6y ago
Hmmm... dropping books on kids... It's good that cows are not flying... Wait, Russians did that already https://youtu.be/QvRiXIfRsCw?t=28 https://youtu.be/QvRiXIfRsCw?t=28
- leoh 6y ago
  What is this from?
mabbo 6y ago
Why is this a great idea, but Amazon delivering packages via drones crazy? Technologically, it's the exact same thing.
- cmdshiftf4 6y ago
  Because it's for "good. The cynical side of me, and I'm particularly cynical when it comes to Google, is that this kind of thing is nothing more than PR to try to normalize filling our skies with drones ("Look at the good they do!") so they can inevitably then fill the skies with crap to boost the consumerist appetite without much protest.
  - cat199 6y ago
    came here to say just that.. this is basically 'think of the children' spun positive as concerns drone normalization impact
bokbok8379 6y ago
Anyone got a pastebin? Article's behind a paywall.
- Stratoscope 6y ago
  http://archive.is/6frfQ http://archive.is/6frfQ
  - bokbok8379 6y ago
    Thanks
beamatronic 6y ago
Huh, the median income of Christiansburg, VA is way higher than I expected. $60-80k?
wsetchell 6y ago
That packaging looks incredibly expensive. Even if the other components/service was free, that alone would make this price uncompetitive. That makes me think this is a long long way from being a self sustaining business.
- cloudwalking 6y ago
  It's paper.
sleepinseattle 6y ago
Over-engineering vs ebooks
- bokbok8379 6y ago
  E-book? Electronic books??? Have you gone mad, sir? Our robotic carrier pigeon service is far superior.
luspr 6y ago
It's cool technology, but I guess ebooks might have been even more effective. Side note, for once I am happy to be in Germany and not the US. Here Libraries are open. I go to the gym. Next week I even have a movie date at the local cinema.

75 points by jamessun 6y ago

I can’t help but think a car would have been a better delivery mechanism but then Google wouldn’t get much press from it. Doing “good things” just for better optics really leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

habosa 6y ago
Probably be cheaper in the long term to give each kid a cheap eReader with a digital library subscription too.
agarden 6y ago
Today, sure, using a van would be much more efficient. But this is probably a way to test and improve the technology, working towards making it more efficient than a van. More importantly, the optics here are not just about you and me and other adults. Think about it how it looks to a kid. You can have your library books show up in a van, and that might be fun, but if you could have a drone drop off your library books? What kid wouldn't sit around outside all day waiting for their books to arrive?
- fma 6y ago
  I think we should get kids excited about reading a book through the experience the book provides, not the experience the delivery provides. In the past they used to have book mobiles, and probably still do in some areas. It's a library in a van...not like a UPS delivery where you pick a book out online and you only get that book. A book mobile is where kids can go in the van, physically touch and feel books and choose one that excites them. They can talk to other kids, talk to the librarian... At some point when drone delivery of books get boring, someone will need to invent teleportation just to get kids to read.
dharmab 6y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bookmobile https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bookmobile
jfoster 6y ago
Keep in mind that Wing is a company independent of Google. You're asking a drone delivery company to start driving around in cars delivering books.
dragonwriter 6y ago
> I can’t help but think a car would have been a better delivery mechanism but then Google wouldn’t get much press from it. i can see a pretty obvious way that could get even more press for Google’s corporate parent, since it would be an Alphabet firm doing it directly and not merely an outside but Google-supported firm. > Doing “good things” just for better optics really leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Dissing people for doing good things just because you've ascribed to them optics as their motive leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

yardie 6y ago

This is in the county, Montgomery, where Virgina Tech is based. They have a very large UAV program there. So much so that they applied for a campus-wide FAA exemption. I think it's cool if a bit useless. But if you have a hammer, everything else is a nail. Books have been delivered electronically for decades. Electronically flying a physical book doesn't look to be our future.

themodelplumber 6y ago
Sometimes if you already have a hammer, you start to see ways to hit things, pry things, or pin things so that you don't have to invent or buy another tool. From this perspective, the fact that some people got together to try this isn't a surprise, it's certainly not idiocy, and being creative with existing skills and resources during a pandemic is far from a bad idea. More data and cred for drone folks, more cred and energy leverage for library folks, and more books and learning experiences for readers and learners.
aejnsn 6y ago
Thanks for noting this! I am from (real) SW Virginia. While this looks great as a headline--because everyone knows of SW Virginia's impoverished situation due to coal economy dependencies--Montgomery is definitely NOT the poorest county in SW VA. That's on the border of barely qualifying as "SW VA" in my opinion. I'd rather see this impact in the coalfield counties of Buchanan, Wise, Dickenson, Russell, Lee, Tazewell, etc. The trouble with those counties--regardless how much VA 9th district politicians in that area beat on about their half-measure broadband access--is simply internet access. The intent of dropping physical books is to address the internet access problem. It's a more poverty-stricken area than some realize, nearly third world.
- eganist 6y ago
  > It's a more poverty-stricken area than some realize, nearly third world. This is immensely true of Appalachia in general (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_and_economic_stratification_in_Appalachia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_and_economic_stratifica...). Having done quite a number of roadtrips up and down I-81, the amount of destitution I've seen has never failed to break my heart. Nothing's ever changed for these people, and the foundational building blocks (infrastructure, education, etc) that they'd need in order to really climb out of poverty have been consistently delayed or disregarded. Luck plays more of a factor here than in many other parts of the United States at escaping this loop, so programs like this are heartwarming to see in that they aim to give back as part of a broader goal to advance the state of tech. Drone infrastructure and 5G are probably the two easiest shortcuts to get much of Appalachia equipped with much of what they need to catch up.

dawg- 6y ago

Wow, I would love to see some research done on this. Does drone delivery of books improve reading rates among public school children? My hypothesis: No.

luckylion 6y ago
That'll happen with the link to the Predator program. Read your assigned books, or else...
themodelplumber 6y ago
It doesn't exactly sound like goal #1 is improving reading rates. The article discusses "readers" as the main audience. Which I think is really important to understand. There are a lot of readers out there for whom the pandemic created unnecessary stress and inconvenience, students included. Personally my three kids would have used this like crazy over the last couple months, when they were stuck with whatever they could check out before the local library closed. The drone delivery is a bonus but also it would have been the only way to get books. Aside from learning and enjoyment, the book-reading sessions are converted into AR test scores and classroom-by-classroom cumulative reading word counts, which are reasonably good motivators for many.

littleweep 6y ago

This seems insane. Why not digitally deliver any e-book in a plain text instead of this pr stunt?

themodelplumber 6y ago
What's insane about an alignment of incentives? Drone resources were available. Physical books were going unused, while electronic copies are not exactly free. Those involved get a pat on the back via publicity. Readers get to read more. Learners get to experience a new phenomenon.
- accountwhatever 6y ago
  "Electronic copies are not exactly free." What?
  - themodelplumber 6y ago
    Yep. You know the library has to pay extra for electronic texts, right? For example, when a patron checks out an item from Hoopla, the library is charged from $1 to $3 (or so... prices may have changed) for that transaction. This affects the number of check-outs the library grants patrons for a given month. I've seen ours vary from 3-10. And many popular titles are not available at any time. Another reason why it makes sense to leverage the physical books.

082349872349872 6y ago

For the low-tech version, see Dolly Parton's Imagination Library.

kwhitefoot 6y ago
> low-tech version Appropriate tech in this case. They have delivered over a a hundred million books. https://imaginationlibrary.com/news-resources/ https://imaginationlibrary.com/news-resources/

c-smile 6y ago

Hmmm... dropping books on kids... It's good that cows are not flying... Wait, Russians did that already https://youtu.be/QvRiXIfRsCw?t=28 https://youtu.be/QvRiXIfRsCw?t=28

leoh 6y ago
What is this from?

mabbo 6y ago

Why is this a great idea, but Amazon delivering packages via drones crazy? Technologically, it's the exact same thing.

cmdshiftf4 6y ago
Because it's for "good. The cynical side of me, and I'm particularly cynical when it comes to Google, is that this kind of thing is nothing more than PR to try to normalize filling our skies with drones ("Look at the good they do!") so they can inevitably then fill the skies with crap to boost the consumerist appetite without much protest.
- cat199 6y ago
  came here to say just that.. this is basically 'think of the children' spun positive as concerns drone normalization impact

bokbok8379 6y ago

Anyone got a pastebin? Article's behind a paywall.

Stratoscope 6y ago
http://archive.is/6frfQ http://archive.is/6frfQ
- bokbok8379 6y ago
  Thanks

beamatronic 6y ago

Huh, the median income of Christiansburg, VA is way higher than I expected. $60-80k?

wsetchell 6y ago

That packaging looks incredibly expensive. Even if the other components/service was free, that alone would make this price uncompetitive. That makes me think this is a long long way from being a self sustaining business.

cloudwalking 6y ago
It's paper.

sleepinseattle 6y ago

Over-engineering vs ebooks

bokbok8379 6y ago
E-book? Electronic books??? Have you gone mad, sir? Our robotic carrier pigeon service is far superior.

luspr 6y ago

It's cool technology, but I guess ebooks might have been even more effective. Side note, for once I am happy to be in Germany and not the US. Here Libraries are open. I go to the gym. Next week I even have a movie date at the local cinema.