Amazon has announced that it will be testing the potential of delivery drone technology across the UK. The trials will look at safety in particular and aim to discover what regulations would need to be put into place to make the company’s plans a reality.
The UK has granted Amazon permission for three types of trials:
- Flying drones that are no longer within sight of their operators in rural and suburban areas
- Testing devices to make the drones able to identify and avoid obstacles
- Having one person operate several highly automated drones
Amazon has claimed that the new service could see delivery of parcels within thirty minutes of the order being placed:
“This announcement strengthens our partnership with the UK and brings Amazon closer to our goal of using drones to safely deliver parcels in 30 minutes to customers in the UK and elsewhere around the world.” – Paul Misener, Amazon Vice President
In June, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) granted new rules that now allow small, commercial drones to operate across US airspace. Amazon and other vendors are working on various robo-delivery systems, that are thought will become common practice over the coming years.
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