Amazon (finally) launches its drone delivery service

It’s been more than three years since Amazon announced its drone delivery, but that’s it! Drone deliveries will finally begin, at least on a small scale. The pilot program will begin in the city of Lockeford, California.

Amazon in 2020 received clearance from the United States Civil Aviation Authority (FAA) to make commercial deliveries by droneand indicates working with the local authorities of Lockeford as well as the FAA to start its Prime offer Air. After ordering an item marked as Prime Air eligible, Lockeford residents will see an estimated time Delivery with a tracking system. The drone will descend into the customer’s garden, stop at a height that does not pose a danger, then drop the package before flying away.

Fully automated drones

Amazon created more than two dozen prototypes before settling on the MK27-2, which is hexagonal in shape and designed to limit high-frequency sounds. The device is loaded with sensors in order to be able to make the journey without an operator and avoid static obstacles and mobilesin the air and on the ground, like the other aircraftpeople and animals.

Amazon has not indicated whether delivery will be possible for apartment customers and has not given an exact date for the start of this new service. We will then have to wait for feedback from Lockeford residents before seeing this system become widespread. However, it is difficult to imagine the service arriving in France without a major change. regulations in the matter. Only professionals can obtain an exemption to be able to fly over cities, provided they avoid sensitive areas, notify the authorities several days in advance and always keep their drone in line of sight. Quite the opposite of an automated drone from Amazon which delivers the products within an hour of the order…

Amazon wants to use its delivery drones for home surveillance

To prevent home intrusions, offenses and thefts, Amazon plans to launch a fleet of drones capable of monitoring the homes of its future Prime Air customers in the event of their absence.

Article of Louis Nephewpublished on 06/24/2019

After unveiling its future drone of delivery, Amazon could well embark on drone home surveillance missions. Like private security services, after delivery, the drones could carry out their guard tours to check for the presence of intruders or changes in the environment of individuals’ homes. In any case, this is what a patent filed in June 2015 and noted by Reuters. Just granted by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), it describes a drone home surveillance service. After subscribing to a contract, the Prime Air subscriber could choose a monitoring formula with more or less daily or weekly visits depending on the duration of the customer’s absence.

An eye on the home

In this same patent, the e-commerce giant also unveils a technology to reduce the field of action of the camera to the only environment to be monitored. The drones would be equipped with cameras at night vision and microphones to detect any form of intrusion. So, obviously, given the noise level emitted by the propellers of a multirotor drone, the very presence of the latter nearby remains sufficiently anxiety-provoking to prove to be a deterrent. Similarly, for the moment, the flight of drones beyond sunset Sun remains prohibited by most aviation regulations. In the meantime, while it still does not have the necessary authorizations from the administration in charge of American civil air traffic (FAA), the merchant still intends to launch its drone delivery within a few months.

Amazon unveils its new delivery drone

Article by Louis Neveu, 07/03/2019

Amazon has just unveiled its delivery drone. Equipped with six rotors, it can move like an airplane to deliver parcels about 25 km from its starting point.

Futura often evokes the ambitions of Amazon on its projects of deliveries packages by drones. In the United States, the cyber-merchant has been experimenting with prototypes for years to study the feasibility of these deliveries in agreement with the civil aviation security authority.

After 50,000 designs evaluated in the simulator, Amazon has now finalized what its delivery drone operational. This was presented at the conference re:MARS (Machine Learning, Automation, Robotics and Space) currently taking place in Las vegas. 100% electric, the drone has six rotors. These seem to be protected by fairings which are actually fins. Because, once the vertical take-off has been carried out, the drone tilts and evolves like an airplane by exploiting the lift of these wings.

Packed with sensors for added security

According to Amazon, the device could travel nearly 25 km autonomously in less than 30 minutes to drop off packages under 2.3 kg. A weight that would represent more than 75% of all parcels delivered according to the merchant. The latter does not say if the device has the autonomy necessary to make the way back.

For navigate autonomously and assess the obstacles to overcome, the drone is covered with sensors. Thus, a geometric vision system has been developed so that the drone can detect electrical or telephone cables. Thermal sensors, cameras and radars ultrasound are also part of it.

After an experimental phase validated by the civil aviation authorities, the drone should inaugurate within a few months the new Prime Air service from Amazon.