AMAZON DRONES TO SCAN YOUR HOUSE WHILE THEY'RE DELIVERING? You know it! Commentary: An Amazon patent granted on Tuesday says its drones will capture data about properties to make future recommendations.

https://www.cnet.com/news/amazon-drones-to-scan-your-house-while-theyre-delivering/

Commentary: An Amazon patent granted on Tuesday says its drones will capture data about properties to make future recommendations.
Culture

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by Chris Matyszczyk
July 26, 2017 10:02 AM PDT
@ChrisMatyszczyk
Technically Incorrect offers a slightly twisted take on the tech that's taken over our lives.

Amazon Prime Air
Just what will it be doing when it's hovering above your house?
Amazon
Preparing for the future means preparing for every part of your life to be exposed to the world.

How far, though, might it go?

An Amazon patent filing that was granted on Tuesday offers a small, intrusive clue.

This filing covers data collected as Amazon's drones fly overhead and speedily bring you the purple Lacoste shirt you need to look fetching on a date.

The drone won't be just innocently servicing your needs. This filing says it will be obtaining data. It's unclear exactly what sort of data, but the implication is that the drone will be scanning your house.

The filing says: "Captured data may be received by a computer system and properties about a destination for the delivery may be identified by analyzing the data. A recommendation may be generated based at least in part on the identified properties."

What sort of properties about your property might these be? Will Amazon kindly email you to tell you that a couple of tiles on your roof need replacing?

Well, yes. The filing states: "For example, the one or more service provider computers may analyze the data and identify that the roof of the location is in disrepair and in need of service."

The filing also mentions surveilling your backyard and looking at the state of, for example, your trees.

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But might the drone's camera be a little more sneaky? Within minutes of the drone returning to base, you get an email from Amazon reading: "Hey, your daughter's sheets look a bit old, don't they? We have special offers on bedding."

Amazon didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Very soon -- if you believe Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos -- these Amazon Prime Air drones will be as common as mail trucks.

They will be your robot mailmen, buzzing their way into your neighborhood and bringing you gifts.

But, just as the mailman often has a little fine gossip to share about your neighbors, these drones might secure and even share interesting personal information about the way you conduct your life.

Only so that you can take advantage of special Amazon offers, of course.