The online mail order company Amazon started delivering packages with drones in the USA shortly before Christmas. In August, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued the necessary clearance for deliveries with MK27-2 drones.
The maximum payload is 5 pounds, or the equivalent of a little less than two and a half kilograms. According to Amazon, the weight of 85 percent of all packages is below this mark. The drone flies to the customer’s backyard and hovers at a safe altitude, drops the package and climbs back to its altitude, Amazon said in a statement.
Amazon pilot project on the flat country
The Amazon Prime Air service flies to nearby customers from Lockeford, California, and College Station, Texas. Interested parties from both cities can register for the service. Amazon then reports back whether the address can be safely delivered. Once an order is placed, customers will receive a message with tracking information and an estimated delivery time.
Amazon is initially testing the service in small towns. Lockeford, for example, has a population of just 3,500 and is located in the countryside 50 miles southeast of Sacramento—a safe distance from high-rise buildings and similar bulky obstacles. In the rural location, little can disrupt the drone delivery. After a successful pilot phase, Amazon wants to gradually expand the Prime Air service.
The successor drone MK30 should be able to fly further and more robustly than the current model.
Safe flight paths for Amazon drones
For the time being, Amazon wants to focus on safe flight routes. The autonomously flying drones use algorithms as part of the Sense-and-Avoid system developed by Prime Air, which are intended to avoid collisions with obstacles such as chimneys and overhead power lines. Amazon currently has all flights monitored by human eyes.
Amazon is currently using MK27-2 delivery drones. The drone has a hexagonal design with six propellers that are designed to produce little high-frequency noise. The successor MK30 should be lighter, smaller and faster than the MK27-2 and also be able to fly further and even in the rain. In the long term, this drone should also be able to fly without visual contact with the pilot.
(akr)
