Online retain giant, Amazon, will reportedly begin a drone-based parcel delivery system later this year. The company stated that the residents of Lockeford, California, will be able to avail this facility to have their products delivered through the air.
As per reports, however, the final regulatory approval to bring drones into the sky is still on hold for Amazon.
The company has flaunted plans to deliver goods through drones for years, but those could not proceed due to several setbacks. However, after Lockeford, the firm plans to extend the service more widely.
Amazon stated in a blog post that the assurance of drone deliveries often felt like science fiction. But hopefully, this year Lockeford, California, will set off to be among the first cities to get Prime Air deliveries.
The company will use their feedback to develop a Prime Air service that will scale up the facility to meet the growing customer requirements.
As per reports, the drone will be designed to drop parcels in the backyards of shoppers in Lockeford. The city has a population of about 4,000 people..
Supposedly, the drones will be capable of flying “beyond-line-of-sight”, or they will navigate using sensors to avoid other aircraft, pets, and other obstacles, without being controlled by a visual observer.
It is to be noted that Amazon has been previously accused of using the promise of drone delivery as a publicity stunt to promote its Prime membership service in the past.
Back in 2013, former boss and Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos, had pledged to bring drone delivery into practical application within a five year period. Again, in 2019, Amazon stated that it would begin delivering to customers via drone in a couple of months.
In April of 2022, Bloomberg alleged that there were some safety concerns with Amazon drones, although the firm had claimed that it rigorously tests its drone flights in compliance with any and all applicable regulations.
Meanwhile, in December of 2016, the company ran an evidently successful trial in Cambridge, UK, where an Amazon package was delivered to the customer in 13 minutes via a drone.
Since then, the company has partnered with US retailer Walmart and courier firms FedEx and UPS to trial drone delivery.
Source credit: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-61790085