Amazon Drone Deliveries: Coming Soon to a Doorstep Near You

By Isabel Sobel on January 5, 2014

Jeff Bezos, the high-flying founder and CEO of Amazon announced the company’s newest feat, namely, Amazon Prime Air. This developing service features the use of drones in order to deliver products in a swift, jet-like 30 minutes after a customer logs their order. This program, which Bezos projects will go into effect in as little as four or five years, is still pending approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), causing many to dub Bezos’s five-year plan an “optimistic” estimate of when delivery drones would truly take off.

But what exactly are drones? Drones are unmanned aerial vehicles, which basically means they are aircrafts without a human pilot on board. The flight path of a drone is controlled either by an autonomous computer, or by a pilot located elsewhere, typically using a remote control.

Drones are normally used for military functions, but are occasionally employed for other purposes. Given that drones first flew the skies in the early 1900s, it seems surprising that it has taken this long for the commercial sector to capitalize on them. Drones are a seemingly obvious alternative to manual labor, and offer endless economic opportunities for businesses.

So how likely is it that Amazon’s Prime Air program will come to fruition?

In order for delivery drones to reach the skies, a few things must first play out—including new regulations within the FAA, which has yet to draft safety rules for unmanned aircraft; however, policy makers are already looking to explore the impact that programs like Amazon Prime Air could have on our country’s economy. A Senate committee is set to hold a hearing early next year in order to examine the possible effect of private companies using drones for their businesses, including Amazon’s proposed delivery program.

Nevertheless, Amazon’s drone program poses potential transportation problems as well. Experts are currently asking questions. For one, is the technology present to avoid drone collisions? Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-W.V), chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation plans to further investigate this question through this hearing to balance the safety risks against potential economic benefits.

And what does the general public think of these drone carriers? Many originally believed the announcement to be a hoax; others are in disbelief. Nonetheless, Bezos’s statement fueled Twitter users from around the world to poke fun at Amazon’s drone program, likening it to a George Jetson-esque world these flying robots would create. In fact, the newly created parody Twitter account @AmazonDrones has nearly 10,000 followers. With tweets like, “A drone doesn’t care if you come to the door naked,” it’s easy to see why.

Even Bezos acknowledged the ostensibly futuristic façade of the Amazon Prime Air program, but he ultimately downplays its seemingly cutting-edge absurdities through its practicality. “I think this looks like science fiction, but it’s not. . . . We can do half-hour delivery and carry objects we think up to five pounds, which covers 86% of the items we deliver.” Bezos also highlighted the environmental benefits of utilizing drones saying, “It’s very green, it’s better than driving trucks around.”

Perhaps the world should start taking these devices more seriously. Though these delivery drones might sound farfetched, it doesn’t make them unattainable. Soon, businesses might even be asking the questions: How else could drones be integrated into everyday life? Drone pizza deliveries? Drones bringing your groceries straight to your door? Maybe even drones to deliver those Hogwarts acceptance letters. The possibilities are endless.

But is the world ready for flying robots to become a reality? And if so, who do you give the tip to? Only time will tell.

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