Amazon on Thursday unveiled the design for a new delivery drone that promises to be smaller, quieter and capable of flying in light rain.
The drone, called the MK30, is due to go into service in 2024, the tech giant said in a blog post Thursday. It's smaller and lighter than the MK27-2, the drone that'll be used to make deliveries in Lockeford, California, and College Station, Texas, later this year.
The new design allows for increased range, expanded temperature tolerance and new safety features, Amazon said.
Amazon helped kick off the drone delivery idea with the 2013 announcement of Prime Air, promising one-hour delivery times for thousands of items in Amazon's warehouses. In 2020, it gained approval for the drones from the Federal Aviation Administration, before scaling back the project the following year.
Its current fleet of delivery drones fly 400 feet above the ground at speeds up to 50 mph carrying packages up to 5 pounds within a range of about 9 miles.
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Amazon has officially begun making shipment deliveries with drones to customers in both Lockeford, California and College Station, Texas, the company confirmed to Nexstar's KTXL on Friday:
The service in Lockeford was first announced in June 2022 and six months later has officially started.
"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," Natalie Banke, Amazon Air spokesperson said.
Amazon calls its drone delivery Prime Air and has been working with the Federal Aviation Administration and local officials in both Lockeford and College Station to begin the service.
The goal is to deliver packages under 5 pounds in one hour or less.
Previously:
- Amazon Unveils Smaller Delivery Drone That Can Fly in Rain
- Amazon Will Pilot Drone Delivery in California This Year
- Amazon's Prime Air Drone Delivery Fleet Gains FAA Approval for Trial Commercial Flights
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Opportunist on Saturday November 12 2022, @04:47PM (3 children)
That's all it will come down to. How hard is it to force these things onto the ground, by force or electronic trickery?
If you can't make sure these things are impervious to tampering, it's just handing out freebies to crooks.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Runaway1956 on Saturday November 12 2022, @05:25PM (1 child)
I want to know how much noise they make. Like, when they are falling, they should whistle or something. That way, I will look up, and hopefully avoid being knocked in the head.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Sunday November 13 2022, @07:17AM
Don't worry, they won't fall on your head. They will just drop the packet on your head.
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 14 2022, @03:00PM
(Score: 2) by Frosty Piss on Saturday November 12 2022, @05:38PM
It's a fun buzzword filled marketing idea, but I suspect liability would be a huge issue.