Amazon's New Delivery Drone Is Sleeker, Smarter, And Still Illegal!
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Two years ago, Jeff Bezos, the founder, and CEO of retail giant Amazon Inc. announced that the company would soon be introducing Amazon Prime Air - A new 30-minute delivery service using unmanned drones. Timed to coincide with the country's biggest online shopping day - 'Cyber Monday,' the news generated a lot of excitement among consumers. Unfortunately, thanks to the U.S. Federal Aviation Authority (FAA), the service has yet to 'take off!' But Amazon has not given up.
On November 30th, which also happened to be 'Cyber Monday', the company released a video of a new and improved drone. Adorned with Amazon's signature blue, white, and yellow colors, the delivery vehicle is larger than the one unveiled in 2013.
It can travel a distance of 15-miles at speeds of up to 55mph. Although the new drone takes off vertically like a quadcopter, its hybrid design that includes a rear propeller allows it to fly like an airplane.
To avoid both foot and air traffic, the drone is built to fly at a 'safe' altitude of 400-feet. Advanced sensors ensure that the autonomous vehicle can avoid obstacles both while in the air, and also during take off and landing.
Also, unlike the previous prototype, this one does not drop the packages to the ground. Instead, it seeks out a predesignated landing area chosen by the customer. To ensure that the drop-off zone is clear, and the parcel does not fall into wrong hands, the drone is programmed to notify the client its exact arrival time.
Sounds too good to be true? Well, it is for now given that FAA officials are still trying to decide how to regulate commercial drones. But Amazon is not worried. The company officials are so confident that Amazon Prime Air will be a reality soon that they are busy developing a 'family' of drones to handle all kinds of weather and terrain. But for now, we will just have to live with the “inconvenience” of waiting at least two days to receive our urgent packages!
Resources: npr.com,refinery29.com,gizmag.com
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1110 Comments
- Shadow Masterabout 10 yearsI hope FAA says that the drone is approved for Amazon to use:)
- bobabout 10 yearswhy is it illegal?
- I <3 horsesabout 10 yearsits cool but, if the sensors break then it could hurt someone. Plus what does it run on?
alexiahotabout 10 yearsalso a good current event i used- alexiahotabout 10 yearsmy life is amazon why illegal why? :(
- Awesome Dude about 10 yearsDang, 55mph, thats almost as fast as a regular car, but the thing is won't it have to land somewhere if they are to use it to use air delivery service? And what about the cost of these drones each, are they expensive?
- dj bossabout 10 yearsthis is kind of weird but cool at the same time. Also why is it illegal ?
- AnonymousHackerabout 10 yearsWhy is hat even illegal anyways, not trying to e rude, but the government is wrong
- alexiahotabout 10 yearstrue
- current eventabout 10 yearsmine too
- Nameabout 10 years@boyman123: They do it in hopes that one day the government will allow them to send out deliveries using drones.