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posted by on Thursday January 19 2017, @03:54PM   Printer-friendly
from the teaching-drones-to-dance dept.

Amazon is preparing to test experimental wireless communications technology, including mobile devices and fixed-base stations, in rural Washington and Seattle, the company disclosed in government filings this week.

The filings do not specify what the tests would be for, but they hint at a new type of technology or wireless service, noting that the project would involve prototypes designed to support "innovative communications capabilities and functionalities."

Even more intriguing is that Amazon listed Neil Woodward as the main contact on the filings. Woodward, a retired NASA astronaut who joined Amazon in 2008, is now a senior manager for Prime Air, the team in charge of Amazon's drone-delivery effort, according to his LinkedIn page.

That suggests the tests could involve some kind of communications system to control Amazon's delivery drones. But the details in the filings could also point to a wireless service designed to work with mobile handsets, such as Amazon's Kindle tablets, or perhaps the Echo home speakers that Amazon sells.

-- submitted from IRC


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  • (Score: 2) by Snow on Thursday January 19 2017, @05:51PM

    by Snow (1601) on Thursday January 19 2017, @05:51PM (#456125) Journal

    Just throwing out ideas here, but what about a peer to peer collision avoidance system.

    If they are planning on having hundreds or thousands of drones flying around delivering stuff, then there will need to be some sort of air traffic control.

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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by takyon on Thursday January 19 2017, @06:32PM

    by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Thursday January 19 2017, @06:32PM (#456143) Journal

    FAA restrictions requiring the drones to be within the line of sight of an operator are a killer for Amazon Prime Air. This test may be aimed at convincing regulators that is not necessary.

    They seem to be approving softer requirements incrementally on a case by case basis:

    https://www.faa.gov/uas/programs_partnerships/focus_area_pathfinder/ [faa.gov]

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