Yes, the Amazon Prime Air is here...or is it? You must be thinking why not? I'm sure all of you must have heard about the sudden reap of interest about the Amazon drones, also known as the Amazon Prime Air. If you haven't, then this post is especially for you.
Over the next few weeks, FedEx and all the mailmen are going to be working overtime trying to get your Christmas present to you. In a couple of years, they won't be doing this. Instead, Amazon's drones will take over, working hard to get your gifts to you on time. What exactly are the Amazon Prime Air drones? Amazon drones are the future way of delivering packages. Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon, says that Prime Air is a service that delivers packages by autonomous drones. He hopes that the company will be able to deliver packages into customer's hands within 30 minutes of the time they place an order. His hopes are to have this in use by 2015. "I know this looks like science fiction. It's not," Bezos said. "It drops the package. You come and get your package, and we can do half-hour deliveries." But, really? Will this really work?
One of the biggest challenges for Amazon will be the safe landing of the drones in front of the customers' homes. Imagine this drone hitting someone or something out on the streets. That would be quite hurtful. Hitting trees, power lines, and the safety of people walking outside are few of the safety issues. These Amazon drones would need more safety testing. Bezos says," This thing can't land on somebody's head while they're walking around their neighborhood." That would be funny and quite embarrassing. This drone can run into kids playing in the driveway or something else not pictured in the satellite view of the delivery site. "Obviously obstacle avoidance will be built into drones," Colin Guinn CEO of DJI Innovations says, "What customers could also do is choose a specific landing spot when ordering, like the back yard or driveway." That would be offering a spot clear of obstacles and will be helpful for the drone to avoid accidents.
Safe landing is not the only challenge that Amazon faces with the drones. These Amazon drones are limited and will only be able to serve a tiny part of the U.S.A. These unmanned vehicles would only be able to deliver packages within a 10-mile radius of the Amazon fulfillment centers. So folks who live in Fremont, CA, well, we're out of luck for now. "The[Amazon] video is by far the most fleshed out proof of concept yet." Guinn said. "But with the system they showed, a 20-mile round trip on a single charge isn't possible with today's technology." Still, even when the drones could fly 20 miles from fulfillment centers, only a tiny part of our country could be served. These drones will be able to carry packages that weigh up to five pounds, which covers about 86 percent of the items Amazon delivers.
Despite that, there is always the technical issues. How long can the battery last? How many deliveries can the drones make before needing service? Because of that, the delivery cost would be quite expensive. Making the drones would be costly as well. I'm not sure if many people would use this way of delivering because of the high cost issues. But, I would love to try this at least once, that is... if my parents are okay with it:)
However, the U.S Federal Aviation Administration will have to agree to these plans. So putting Prime Air into action will take years but, "one day Prime Air vehicles will be as normal as seeing mail trucks on the road today," the company said. I hope this idea will come true and I'm sure Amazon will find a way to face these challenges. True, it will be hard but Amazon has changed the way of shipping and can do it again. It would be great when you look up and see Amazon's drones flying by!!!
One of the biggest challenges for Amazon will be the safe landing of the drones in front of the customers' homes. Imagine this drone hitting someone or something out on the streets. That would be quite hurtful. Hitting trees, power lines, and the safety of people walking outside are few of the safety issues. These Amazon drones would need more safety testing. Bezos says," This thing can't land on somebody's head while they're walking around their neighborhood." That would be funny and quite embarrassing. This drone can run into kids playing in the driveway or something else not pictured in the satellite view of the delivery site. "Obviously obstacle avoidance will be built into drones," Colin Guinn CEO of DJI Innovations says, "What customers could also do is choose a specific landing spot when ordering, like the back yard or driveway." That would be offering a spot clear of obstacles and will be helpful for the drone to avoid accidents.
Safe landing is not the only challenge that Amazon faces with the drones. These Amazon drones are limited and will only be able to serve a tiny part of the U.S.A. These unmanned vehicles would only be able to deliver packages within a 10-mile radius of the Amazon fulfillment centers. So folks who live in Fremont, CA, well, we're out of luck for now. "The[Amazon] video is by far the most fleshed out proof of concept yet." Guinn said. "But with the system they showed, a 20-mile round trip on a single charge isn't possible with today's technology." Still, even when the drones could fly 20 miles from fulfillment centers, only a tiny part of our country could be served. These drones will be able to carry packages that weigh up to five pounds, which covers about 86 percent of the items Amazon delivers.
Despite that, there is always the technical issues. How long can the battery last? How many deliveries can the drones make before needing service? Because of that, the delivery cost would be quite expensive. Making the drones would be costly as well. I'm not sure if many people would use this way of delivering because of the high cost issues. But, I would love to try this at least once, that is... if my parents are okay with it:)
However, the U.S Federal Aviation Administration will have to agree to these plans. So putting Prime Air into action will take years but, "one day Prime Air vehicles will be as normal as seeing mail trucks on the road today," the company said. I hope this idea will come true and I'm sure Amazon will find a way to face these challenges. True, it will be hard but Amazon has changed the way of shipping and can do it again. It would be great when you look up and see Amazon's drones flying by!!!
