You are sprawled on the green grass of your lawns at home… soaking in the sun and the light. Suddenly a drone appears from nowhere and drops a package in your lawn and disappears. When you open it, you find, it is your favourite colour T-shirt that you had ordered an hour ago on Amazon….. Imaginary scenario? How does it feel? Great… Isn’t it? But it won’t be an imaginary scenario for long as Amazon’s drone delivery service ‘Amazon Prime Air’ is very much real. Well here we are presenting some interesting facts about this new development based on what Amazon’s vice president for global policy, Paul Misener informed.
Airspace designation
When it is something you are supposed to fly in the sky and that something is supposed to carry packages for people, safety becomes a primary concern. Misener clarifies that Amazon’s proposal is for its delivery drones to fly between altitudes between 200 and 400 feet. A 100-foot buffer would exist between 400 feet and 500 feet, where mannedaircraft would fly above 500 feet. Amateur drones would only be able to fly up to 200 feet in the air. At present, this is just a proposal suggested to regulators such as the Federal Aviation Administration. But this kind of airspace designation will surely be good for proper and safe operation of these drones.
‘Small’ and ‘quick’ are the keywords
So if you needed a new couch and booked it on Amazon, don’t expect the drone to deliver it to your terrace. Misener informs that Prime Air drones will weigh about 55 pounds and hence will deliver packages that weigh up to five pounds. The delivery will take place in 30 minutes.
Customisation is the key
According to Misener, Amazon wants to reach out to everyone using a drone irrespective of the climate or place they live in. But in order to cater to such variety of customers, the company will have to come up with different types of drones to cater to different climates like hot, cold or wet or different types of residential areas like high-rise apartments or suburban houses. So customisation of drones is high on Amazon Prime Air’s agenda.
Cut that noise
Everybody who knows about a drone knows the noise it creates because of the spinning rotors. This is one other aspect that Amazon wants to focus on. Misener says it wants to design their drones in such a way that they are not noisy and don’t prove to be a nuisance in the neighbourhood. Work is underway to find ways to dampen that unpleasant noise.
Sense–and–avoid technology
Misener explains that in order to make Prime Air a success it is imperative that the drones used by the company are high-tech and highly automated with a ‘sense–and–avoid technology’ in order to enable them to see objects and avoid crashing. Only then the purpose of using drones in home delivery is served otherwise it will be just another service wreaking havoc.
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Author: Technology Blog
