Amazon is working to bring 30-minute drone deliveries to urban areas.
Key Details
- Amazon has been working for years to make drones a part of its delivery process and it could soon become a reality for the major company.
- After many setbacks, the company is preparing to debut its Prime Air drone delivery service as well as a smaller drone that could be making regular 30-minute deliveries in large cities.
- The smaller drone is set to be ready by 2024 and Amazon hopes to have it in its regular delivery fleet by the end of the decade.
Why it’s news
Amazon is continuously working to have the best new ways to get items to customers. Many consumers want their items as fast as possible and Amazon is creating drones to get packages delivered in 30 minutes.
Amazon recently announced a new drone which it hopes to have done by 2024 and making regular deliveries by the end of the decade. The drone is an 80-pound hexagon-shaped aircraft that can deliver packages in a short amount of time to highly populated cities.
Not only will the drone allow Amazon customers to receive packages in a very short amount of time, but the drones will also be better for the environment, the company says. The use of drones will help cut back on delivery trucks and help slow the amount of emissions being given off.
Amazon has previously introduced a drone, but it was faced with many challenges causing the company to reconfigure the device. The newest aircraft has been created to withstand many challenges including weather conditions and safety features to help it avoid people, pets and other obstacles.
Many different items will be eligible for drone delivery as long as the items can fit in a small box and weigh a total of five pounds or less.
Obstacles
The drones are almost ready to be in the air full time, but there are still a few obstacles standing in the way.
In order to fly long distances to deliver packages drones will be out of line of sight of the operator and The Federal Aviation Administration will have to create rules for that to be done.
Other rules are needed for traffic. Many drones could be in the air at one time and a system will have to be worked out in order to control the traffic and make sure there are not any accidents.