Amazon Prime Air: Controllable Tech Reaching New Heights

It's fitting that Amazon unveiled their next innovation, Prime Air, on 60 Minutes the night before Cyber Monday — promising 30–minute delivery in the near future just before the biggest online shopping day of the year. Earlier in November, Amazon signed a deal with the US Postal Service to provide Sunday deliveries, so it's no surprise that they're trying to find ways to disrupt delivery methods. It also reminds us that while Wearable Technology is making waves, Controllable Technology, such as these Amazon drones, is still here and will have an even greater impact on our world.Even with the latest FAA drone roadmap, chances are Prime Air won't be here by 2015, if only for lacking the FAA rules. However, it's hard not to fall in love with the idea of flying delivery bots dropping off your order in such short time. See a commercial right after kick–off, order from Amazon on your tablet, get it before half–time, try it out and post your review before the start of the third quarter — an impulse shopper's dream or nightmare. It also begs the question, could they license this tech to Pizza chains?Anki Drive is an impressive combination of Controllable Technology and artificial intelligence. While it's used in a toy now, this combination could be applied to other areas — this decision-making capability could be what's needed to make sure the Prime Air drones don't leave packages unattended or try to land on people. Google's self–driving cars are already better drivers than we are and a new process for 3D–printed lithium-ion batteries is opening up whole new possibilities for powering this tech. Looking at how robotics changed manufacturing over the last few decades and shows a glimpse at how Controllable Tech can change nearly everything we do.While Wearable Technology is giving us better insight into ourselves and helping us change on a personal level, Controllable Technology offers change on a much bigger level. Wearable Tech gives us the means to monitor and therefore change our behavior, but Controllable Tech and AI provide means to shape our behavior and disrupt society in much bigger ways.Perhaps in the future, all of those last–minute Christmas Eve shoppers can rest at ease knowing that they can avoid the holiday rush at the stores and a little robotic Santa Claus will literally fly down the chimney and leave a present under the tree before morning.