Amazon Unveils New Drone Delivery Program

If you enjoy clear night skies and a bit of silence, you’ll be disappointed to find out that the skies will soon get busier and louder than before. 

Amazon has revealed its newest drone, dubbed the Prime Air, which it plans to put to work in the service of Prime members, who will be receiving their drone-carried packages in as little as 30 minutes, as long as their packages are under 5 pounds. 

The Prime Air takes off vertically and tilts horizontally after take off. IT features artificial intelligence and sensors that Amazon says will help it keep both the people on the ground as well as traditional aircraft safe. 

It measures about six feet across and its propellers are surrounded by a shroud-like design in order to keep people protected and injury-free in case of an accident. 

“We have a design that is amazing,” Gur Kimchi, vice president of Amazon Prime Air told Bloomberg. “It has performance that we think is just incredible. We think the autonomy system makes the aircraft independently safe.”

The drone was introduced by Jeff Wilke, chief of Amazon’s Global Consumer Business, during the re:MARS technology conference which took place in Las Vegas. 

“The tech industry is abuzz about drones, but not all drones are created equal,” Wilkes told the public.

In spite of what reportedly has been a theatrical announcement, Amazon didn’t offer a lot of details on the drone itself, due to ‘trade secrets’. It also didn’t say anything about where exactly the delivery tests will be conducted.

In the past, they were usually held in the U.K and understandably so: it’s notoriously difficult for aircraft manufacturers to get U.S Federal Aviation Administration approval for their designs and, at this point in time, the agency is still trying to figure out where exactly the drones fit into the narrative. 

However, the FAA issued a statement shortly after Amazon’s announcement stating that it has granted a one-year approval to the company to test its aircraft, but that they have not approved of the delivery status for now.