Amazon's concept of deliveries made by drones, aka Prime Air, was revealed two years ago by the company's CEO Jeff Bezos. More precisely, the idea is to enable a delivery within 30 minutes, anywhere. The fastest way being by air, a small, autonomous yet secure mode of transportation is required. That's were the multirotor Miniature Unmanned Air Vehicle, also known as Miniature UAV, or drone, becomes the key factor. Of course the orders will have to fulfil some conditions to be drone-eligible. The package can't be heavier than 5 pounds, it has to fit in the drone's compartment and the delivery location has to be within a 10 miles radius of an Amazon distribution center. Also, any drone won't do, it has to be specially designed for this purpose.
In March this year, Amazon was granted with permission to build and test a prototype in the US by the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration), as long as some rules were followed, such as limited speed (100 mph) and altitude (400 ft). The last of these Amazon Prime Air drones prototypes has just been unveiled, along with a commercial (below). On a dedicated article, Amazon explains that safety is its main concern and that Air Prime won't be launched until they "are able to demonstrate safe operations". We must admit, it's going to be quite interesting to see flying parcels all over the world... Sci fi is just a drone away.
Photo: Amazon.com
News in the same category
Planning a trip to the North Pole this winter? A NuDown high-tech Jacket should definitely be on your packing list.
Target unveiled its Christmas pop-up store in downtown Manhattan last week, but this playground is also a test ground for future retail services.
Disney's Playmation toys are actually beyond toys. Wearables, motion sensors, wireless technology amongst others, will allow your kids to be a real part of the story, in a way that's really innovative. Welcome to a new smart toys era.
An expresso gives a great boost but it won't last more than a short time, and too much caffeine has its side effects. But as it turns out, Nestlé has taken an active interest in cubosomes to deliver molecules of nutrients I a controlled fashion.
