Amazon’s City of The Future

Amazon the company that delivers your packages to your doorstep it has its own airline is buying up shopping malls and is looking to put docking stations on top of streetlights that drones can use to charge their batteries as they make deliveries all of this is being done by a company that is only 25 years old it is Amazon's online businesses that have made the company so powerful from amazon.com to IMDB and twitch there is also the highly profitable Amazon Web Services which is used by the likes of Netflix uber Spotify and more all of these online businesses are fueling the money and power behind Amazon to build new high-tech ventures for the real world such as the just walk out Amazon go stores or putting their voice control assistant Alexa into everything from microwaves ovens and vacuum cleaners to hotels and cars so what will amazon's city of the future look like a future that will allow packages to be teleported into your hands while your personal assistant Alexa takes care of your daily life alarm set for 7:00 a.m. tomorrow [Music] when a founder is running the company they started you can look to the philosophy of the founder to understand the company itself Jeff Bezos says there are companies that are obsessed with their customers and companies that are obsessed with their competitors he is obsessed about the customers one of the great things about customers all over the world they are divinely discontent you give them the best service you can they love it but they always want a little bit more he likes that challenge the challenge of giving customers lower prices faster shipping and easier shopping and when customers always want a little bit more that means you are always one step behind that is where day 1 comes in Jeff Bezos says it's always day 1 at Amazon day 1 is about the willingness to invent and to pioneer because on day 2 that is when you become irrelevant and decline whenever Amazon has tried to do something that other companies are already doing they have failed says Jeff Bezos take real-world retail as an example of Amazon's pioneering it is a well-established space so how does Amazon stand out by creating stores that you can just walk out of with your items and are charged automatically online if you want to see what the Amazon City of the future will look like then there are three areas to explore the first is shipping how is Amazon going to teleport goods into your hands from creating its own uber network of drivers to the downtown drone beehive the second area is their hybrid retail shopping Amazon is not in the business of selling products but in the business of helping you make buying decisions inception izing you on what to buy and lastly there is Alexa the assistant that with the use of your voice can control the appliances in your kitchen operate your car and even your hotel room Amazon's fleet teleporting goods with right now shipping in the past Jeff Bezos and his early team would pack books on their hands and knees and then take them to the post office it was a chaotic time packages would be shipped late and packing on tables instead of the floor doubled their productivity now you have two day free shipping one day free shipping and even Amazon now the free two-hour delivery service saving you a trip out to the shops this is all possible because Amazon has been building its own delivery system from operating cargo ships in between China and the u.s. to having 20,000 delivery vans and 300 semi trucks Amazon even has its own airline Amazon air is Amazon's cargo airline that has an expanding fleet of 50 planes all of the airplanes and trucks allow Amazon to send packages around the US faster the packages then end up at one of Amazon's fulfillment centers and to help deliver packages even faster Amazon has been buying old shopping malls and converting them into more shipping centers why malls because malls are in great locations for populated areas and they've been going out of business because of the rise in online shopping Amazon has over 250,000 global warehouse workers and a hundred thousand robots working in these shipping centers sorting and shipping packages back in 2012 Amazon bought the robotics company Kiva now called Amazon robotics Amazon has their own robotics division which builds autonomous robots for its fulfillment shipping centers you have specific robots driving goods around and other robots made for lifting once the packages are ready for delivery they can be sent using one of Amazon's delivery vans or by its own uber fleet Amazon has its own uber it's called Amazon flex and it allows people to work through its app by picking up a batch of Amazon deliveries that they can then drive and deliver to people's doorsteps people can schedule their own working hours just like how they would be picking up passengers on uber one day delivery has gone from a luxury to being standard for Prime members but as Jeff Bezos says the customer always wants a little bit more and now two-hour delivery is being made possible through Amazon Prime now but how can Amazon get even faster by using drones drone delivery can cut down delivery time to 30 minutes Amazon Prime air looks to use drones that can deliver packages under five pounds within a 15-mile radius in 30 minutes in 2016 the first primary delivery was made in Cambridge England as Amazon had built a prime air fulfillment center in this area and is having more flexibility there when it comes to regulations compared to in the US but the delivery distance of the drones is a challenge since fulfillment centers need a lot of space they are located outside of the cities one Amazon patented idea is the flying warehouse a blimp that can fly closer to delivery areas allowing drones to float down with packages saving energy the second patented idea is to use street lights fitting the docking station on top of them will allow drones to charge their batteries and could deliver packages through a trapdoor that slides the package down to street level and the third patented idea by Amazon is the beehive the idea is to move the fulfillment centers downtown instead of having a large single story fulfillment center outside of the city you have a tall multi-story building downtown that drones can fly in and out of picking up packages so could the amazon city of the future make use of tall downtown buildings will there be alexa powered apartment buildings and hotels that will have drones flying in and out of the top floors dropping off deliveries or will there be downtown amazon shipping center buildings where the top floors have drones coming in and out picking up packages and on the ground floor you have Amazon retail stores where people can make instant purchases of groceries clothes and more hybrid shopping when selling products becomes a service with its huge delivery network it could be said that Amazon is a delivery company but no Jeff Bezos says Amazon is not in the delivery business or in the business of selling products Amazon is in the business of helping you make shopping decisions Amazon started by selling books it then allowed customers to leave reviews positive or negative now this is standard today but it was controversial back then Jeff Bezos said that book publishers didn't like having their books reviewed like that and that maybe Amazon should only publish the positive reviews I believe you have to be willing to be misunderstood if you're going to innovate basil's knew that the negative reviews help people make easier and faster buying decisions these days companies use those negative reviews to make their products better today there is an entire list of Amazon's different offerings aiming to make it easier for people to make purchases for example there is Prime wardrobe a service that will deliver clothes that you like you can try them on and return the pieces that you don't want and then be charged for what you keep how about personal shopper buy prime wardrobe where stylists choose the clothes for you so you don't have to search and you can try them on at home if you need someone to clean your home do home improvements do yard work or set up your electronics then there are Amazon home services or how about buying a house another area that Amazon is dipping its toes into the service is called turnkey which will connect you with a high rated pre-vetted real estate agent in your area and when you close a deal to buy a house you will receive one thousand to five thousand dollars worth of Amazon products and home services for your new home will Amazon take this concept of helping people buy their homes even further another big area that Amazon has gotten into is the health industry there is Amazon business for health care where Amazon has been supplying hospitals for a number of years making it easier for hospitals to make purchases while Amazon basic care is over-the-counter medications such as painkillers cough drops and allergy medicine that you can buy on amazon.com and since Amazon does not have to spend on expensive marketing they can have lower prices pill pack a company that Amazon bought is an online pharmacy that delivers prescription medicine and then there is Alexa along with many other things Alexa is being developed into a healthcare assistant that can help people manage common illnesses and remind them to take their medication when it comes to services that makes it easier for people to buy groceries there is prime pantry and Amazon fresh prime pantry lets you skip your grocery trip and buy snacks drinks and home goods online with prime shipping while Amazon fresh handles all of the fresh foods such as vegetables dairy and meat with same-day delivery and for other everyday items Amazon is making it easier for customers to make buying decisions by having its own Amazon branded products from baby wipes and kitchenware - keyboards cables exercising dumbbells paper shredders and more take amazonbasics batteries as an example they make up 90% of the battery sales on Amazon people are drawn to Amazon's own products because of the low prices and they trust the Amazon name then there are private labels these are brands that have been created by Amazon such as wickedly prime for snack foods mama bear for baby items and happy belly for kitchen Goods and there are over 50 amazon brands just for fashion alone for men's shirts you have buttoned-down Franklin and Freeman for men's shoes and scout and Roe for children for women's fashion Amazon brands include lark and row for every day and work where fashion Luna Coalition for athletic leisure wear and daily ritual for loungewear now most people are not too keen on buying clothes and many other items online most people will go out to the stores online shopping only makes up 10% of overall shopping and for grocery shopping only 2% happens online this is why you see Amazon fast expanding into real world brick-and-mortar shops let's take a step back for a moment and look at Jeff Bezos his own personal investment into a newspaper Bezos was hesitant in buying the Washington Post because he didn't know anything about the newspaper business but Donald Graham the owner of the paper told him that what the Washington Post needed was not more people who understood the newspaper business but someone who understood the Internet this is what Amazon is doing to retail they're mixing their e-commerce knowledge data and money with real-world stores to create hybrid shops the technology they have built for their high-tech fulfillment centers is also making its way into the stores right now there are 500 Whole Foods stores and for Amazon four-star stores which sells highly rated Amazon products there are also 18 Amazon go stores the stores with no cashiers or lines as cameras and sensors track which products you end up taking and charge your Amazon account as you leave the store Bloomberg has reported that there could be as many as 3,000 go stores by 2021 could there be entire shopping malls with this technology in the future Amazon has already partnered with Hyundai in South Korea in building a department store with the just walk out technology Amazon right now could stock entire town streets full of stores they already have all the shop brands online from baby and women clothing to kitchen Goods and electronics will it be just a matter of time before they all appear in buildings that you can walk into and shop instantly and when you walk into these stores not only will there be no lines and checkouts but you will have your own personal assistant following you around alexxa where is the pasta section Alexa does the store have this dress and medium Alexa your star trek assistant we basically envision a world where Alexa is everywhere says Priya a Bonnie director of Amazon voice services jeff bezos says that the inspiration for Alexa came from the Star Trek computer where you ask it things ask it to do things for you and ask it to find things typing on a screen is slow and will be seen as a thing of the past taking its place will be your voice which is fast take smart homes with lights that you can control with your phone as an example as Jeff Bezos says you still need to find your phone open the app get to the right screen and turn on your light but with Alexa you can simply ask Alexa turn on bedside lamp back in the old days you would listen to the news on the radio and you didn't need a screen the difference now is that you are in control with your voice asking Alexa to tell you the news highlights of the day as you get ready for work and this allows for faster processing Elon Musk is working on ways to bridge the gap between our brains and the power of our computers but could voice control be one step in that direction as it allows for faster multitasking commands you can turn on the heating in your car while you are in the kitchen you can unlock your front door for a repair person while at work or you can preheat your oven while you're getting out of the shower all by using voice commands today Alexa has been integrated into over 20,000 devices you can ask Alexa to have the Roomba start cleaning with an echo Auto or a car with Alexa built-in you can ask it to open the garage door while you approach your driveway there are smart Wi-Fi routers so that you can ask Alexa to pause the Wi-Fi to your children's devices and as you get ready for bed you can ask Alexa to turn on your mattress warmer amazon is working on making Alexa predictive opening the blinds turning on the coffeemaker and playing the news headlines for you in the morning automatically you might even get to have a little Alexa helper follow you around the house Alexa take my bags to the front door Amazon is reportedly working on a waist-high robot that will be an Alexa on wheels they already have robots running their warehouses so when will they make their way into our homes he is a smart door lock that is another one of Amazon services not only is Amazon operating cargo ships and their own airline they even have toes in your home to complete the whole delivery chain so why not have Alexa approved delivery people that your front door opens for and your mini Alexa home robot takes care of your packages and stores them away for you when you get home you could give the Alexa helper a cup to put into the smart dishwasher while you're sitting in the living room or give it your bags to put into your car and the day will come when you will have 100% control over such things as your car by using your voice you could ask Alexa to roll up the windows or change your destination how about asking Alexa to help you find parking spots and pay for parking something Amazon has already gotten into would Amazon buy a car company in the future since it is a big part of many people's daily lives or will it continue to work with car companies such as Ford BMW and Audie and program Alexa to work with specific features in each car Alexa set car to sports mode and this is already being done with hotels you have Alexa for hospitality which turns Alexa into your own Butler and concierge Alexa send up two more towels alexxa help me checkout Amazon programs Alexa to integrate into each hotels own network of services so instead of having a high-tech Amazon hotel it is customizing and programming Alexa to work in different hotels using the services they have Alexa make a booking for me at the spa this afternoon one day Alexa could follow you around from place to place so if you go to a different hotel chain it will know what temperature you like the room to be the challenge for Amazon though is how do they keep Alexa with you when they don't operate the mini computer in your pocket your phone but with a voice assistant you don't need a physical screen so Alexa could recognize your voice and follow you around from room to room place to place right now Amazon Go uses cameras and sensors to track the grocery items you pick up and take after you have checked in with a QR code on your phone the fact that Amazon doesn't have a phone could be a benefit it means that they have to innovate in other ways they're pushing hard and having Alexa programmed into existing systems and spaces you can't ask your phone please send up a toothbrush since it won't have any idea what you're talking about but the Alexa in the hotel room has been programmed to work with the hotel's computers or maybe having a physical device that is on you is the way to go and it could login and sync with specific Alexa services when you go to places such as a hotel room or when you are in an Amazon go store since you don't need a screen this could pave the way for completely different devices could Alexa be sewn into our clothes or how about a little lapel pin that clips onto your shirt like the Star Trek comms badge Amazon has started selling by invitation only the echo loop which is a ring and echo buds which are earphones both of which you can use with Alexa say to order an uber to your location one day in the future you could be walking down the street and pass by all kinds of stores that have no lines and as you look up you see drones going in and out of the buildings making deliveries you walk into a store and as you look at the clothes you ask Alexa can you ask them to bring this to me in a small back at home you ask Alexa order my weekly groceries and while your Alexa assistant is bringing you a coffee as you're watching a video you ask Alexa subscribe me to venture city on the next episode of venture city we take a look at how people are making money investing into eSports [Music]

Channel: Venture City

Views: 1,238,492

Rating: 4.7859383 out of 5

Keywords: Amazon, Amazon Air, future city, investing technology, alexa, Prime, shopping, futuristic, sci fi, Amazon Go, future plans, documentary, investing, urban design, drone beehive, game changers, risk takers, jeff bezos, Amazon delivery, drone delivery, Amazon Alexa, Amazon shipping

Id: ZjraUKJRIt8

Length: 21min 20sec (1280 seconds)

Published: Wed Nov 06 2019

Reddit Comments

[u/Andrew_Korenchkin]

Sounds like a dystopia.