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Amazon showed a flying unmanned vehicle capable of delivering small packages. The drone was presented at the re:MARS conference.
The drone is equipped with artificial intelligence and a set of sensors that will allow it to move without creating a threat to air transport or passers-by, told the company to Bloomberg. The device is even able to "notice" wires and clotheslines. This development is a result of computer testing of 50,000 versions of the “flying courier”. There’s no official name yet.
“It has a stunning design. Its performance is great. We also believe that the unmanned control system makes the flying machine safe,” Gur Kimchi, vice president of Amazon Prime Air, told Bloomberg.
The device is surrounded by a six-sided curtain that will protect the latter from the propeller blades in the event of collusion with people. In the event of a collision, the drone's propellers easily stop so that passersby are not injured. The danger associated with the propellers is one of the main problems that developers of delivery drones solve, notes Bloomberg.
At the same time, the curtain is also a wing, which allows the device to fly horizontally. The drone can deliver cargo to customers who live no more than 12 km from the company's warehouse. The maximum weight of a package is about 2 kg. More than 80% of orders delivered by Amazon weigh no more than 2 kg, Kimchi said.
The Amazon Prime Air delivery system has not announced anything related to the drone market for over a year, the agency reminds. Presentation of the new development shows that all this time the company continued to work with regulators and created a system that will allow the launch of drones in accordance with the rules for the use of airspace.
Obtaining consent from the US Federal Aviation Administration, according to Bloomberg, may take years. The office is still working on regulations that owners of drones will have to abide by. Therefore, in the near future, the constant flights of unmanned couriers are unlikely to become a reality. But Amazon’s confidence in its design shows that the new segment of the aviation market is growing rapidly, and the company is ready to cooperate with regulators more actively than ever.
source: bloomberg.com, forbes.com
The drone is equipped with artificial intelligence and a set of sensors that will allow it to move without creating a threat to air transport or passers-by, told the company to Bloomberg. The device is even able to "notice" wires and clotheslines. This development is a result of computer testing of 50,000 versions of the “flying courier”. There’s no official name yet.
“It has a stunning design. Its performance is great. We also believe that the unmanned control system makes the flying machine safe,” Gur Kimchi, vice president of Amazon Prime Air, told Bloomberg.
The device is surrounded by a six-sided curtain that will protect the latter from the propeller blades in the event of collusion with people. In the event of a collision, the drone's propellers easily stop so that passersby are not injured. The danger associated with the propellers is one of the main problems that developers of delivery drones solve, notes Bloomberg.
At the same time, the curtain is also a wing, which allows the device to fly horizontally. The drone can deliver cargo to customers who live no more than 12 km from the company's warehouse. The maximum weight of a package is about 2 kg. More than 80% of orders delivered by Amazon weigh no more than 2 kg, Kimchi said.
The Amazon Prime Air delivery system has not announced anything related to the drone market for over a year, the agency reminds. Presentation of the new development shows that all this time the company continued to work with regulators and created a system that will allow the launch of drones in accordance with the rules for the use of airspace.
Obtaining consent from the US Federal Aviation Administration, according to Bloomberg, may take years. The office is still working on regulations that owners of drones will have to abide by. Therefore, in the near future, the constant flights of unmanned couriers are unlikely to become a reality. But Amazon’s confidence in its design shows that the new segment of the aviation market is growing rapidly, and the company is ready to cooperate with regulators more actively than ever.
source: bloomberg.com, forbes.com
