Amazon has been given the Federal Aviation Administration’s approval to operate as a drone airline in the United States, paving the way for it to start offering commercial deliveries on a trial basis. The FAA said that the ruling allows Amazon to safely and efficiently deliver packages to customers, and let its drones carry packages outside of the operator’s visual line of sight.
Amazon’s vice president in charge of Prime Air, David Carbon was quoted saying “this certification is an important step forward for Prime Air,” , adding that the decision “indicates the FAA’s confidence in Amazon’s operating and safety procedures for an autonomous drone delivery service that will one day deliver packages to our customers around the world.”
The milestone has been a long time coming for Amazon, which announced its Prime Air plans way back in 2013. But hardware limitations as well as health and safety regulation, presented big challenges for the company. It made its first successful drone delivery in Cambridge, England in 2016, but a regular commercial service never followed. Even now there are numerous hurdles standing in the way of Amazon and its competitors making routine deliveries. The FAA is expected to finalize new rules about flying drones over crowds before the end of the year.
Last year, Amazon unveiled the latest version of its delivery drone, which is able to take off vertically like a helicopter and then fly forward like an airplane. Amazon said that its intention is to produce electric drones capable of flying as far as 15 miles, to deliver packages weighing under five pounds, and to do so in 30 minutes or less.
Amazon is not the first company to have gained FAA certification. Google’s sibling company Wing secured its approval to make deliveries last April, and later claimed the title of being the first commercial drone delivery service in the US when it started offering deliveries in Virginia. In conjunction with CVS, UPS has also been testing using drones to transport medical supplies in North Carolina.
Amazon’s Prime Air drones
https://www.cnet.com/news/amazon-prime-air-lands-faa-approval-for-drone-deliveries/
Prime Air Video – 15 miles in 30 minutes or less
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwzpx767y1w
Video of Google’s WING service – touting an impressive 6 miles in 6 minutes service
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=5&v=MSCNirIIosI&feature=emb_logo
CVS testing its pharmacy prescription delivery with UPS
https://www.cnet.com/news/ups-drone-deliver-medicine-from-cvs-straight-to-customers-homes/
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