About two years after receiving permission from the US Federal Aviation Administration, Amazon has begun deploying drones to deliver packages in Texas and California. Prior to Christmas, the retail behemoth delivered products to customers’ backyards in Lockeford, California, and College Station, Texas, according to ARS Technica. This was done using Amazon Prime Air, the company’s new drone delivery service.
Using its hexagonal MK27-2 delivery drone with six propellers, Amazon stated on its website that the new service aimed to deliver products to customers’ homes within an hour.
Amazon Air spokesperson Natalie Banke noted, “Our aim is to safely introduce our drones to the skies. We are starting in these communities and will gradually expand deliveries to more customers over time.”
In addition to filing Final Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact/Record of Decision filings for Lockeford on November 14 and College Station on December 12, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) granted Amazon Part 135 authority to send items by drone in 2020.
In contrast to College Station, Texas, which is a medium-sized city 100 miles northwest of Houston and is home to Texas A&M, Lockeford, California, a rural community 50 miles southeast of Sacramento, has just around 3,500 residents. Residents of each town may register and place orders, and Amazon will let consumers in other areas know when delivery drones are accessible where they are when it is.
According to the most current filings, Amazon’s deliveries will be possible 3.73 miles from its delivery center.
The company claimed that their drones would arrive at the chosen delivery site, hover at a “safe height,” and then “safely” deliver the package before ascending to the air.
Amazon had stated in a previous statement this year, “Lockeford residents will play an important role in defining the future. Their feedback about Prime Air, with drones delivering packages in their backyards, will help us create a service that will safely scale to meet the needs of customers everywhere.”
Customers will receive tracking details and an approximate delivery time after placing their order, at which point the drone will deliver the package to their backyard. According to Amazon, the drones’ six propellers and purposeful hexagonal design are intended to increase stability and reduce high-frequency sound waves.
Despite the fact that the MK27-2 delivery drones are programmed to avoid obstacles like chimneys and fly autonomously, Amazon claims it still uses people to oversee deliveries at the moment.
Safety will remain a priority, especially in light of certain difficulties Amazon encountered when building its drone delivery program, such as crashes. According to Insider and Bloomberg, one mishap at its test facility in Pendleton, Oregon involved a drone that plummeted 160 feet and started a brush fire that covered 25 acres.
Currently, Amazon is developing a new, allegedly safer MK30 drone, which should be usable in 2024. It should be more capable of withstanding high temperatures and mild rain, be smaller and lighter than MK27-2 delivery drones, and travel farther.
There are numerous companies developing their own drone delivery systems, including Amazon. Walmart and Alphabet debuted their own versions in specific regions last year for a limited audience.
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