In December, Amazon formally inaugurated deliveries through Prime Air, his program with drones. At first glance, it seemed like the realization of a plan that had required a decade of development and that had been in the eye of the storm more than once. However, its initial results were far from spectacular, since during its first weeks in operation they took packages to less than 10 homes. And a lot would have to do with the restrictions imposed by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
The meager start of activity for Amazon drones was revealed via The Information, citing people linked to the project. While it is true that Prime Air was launched, so far, in only two cities in the United States —Lockeford, California, and College Station, Texas—, FAA guidelines would prevent airborne deliveries from reaching a greater number of homeseven within the cities in which the service is enabled.
Amazon has already requested that it be granted greater freedoms for the flight of Prime Air drones, but the US authorities are not willing to give in easily. And some of the demands are so drastic that it’s even ridiculous that the company run by Andy Jassy has agreed to start trading under such conditions.
For starters, in both California and Texas, Amazon Prime Air drones cannot deliver to homes that are more than 4 miles away from their takeoff sites. But completing your tour while adhering to FAA regulations is a real headache.
Strict aeronautical regulation limits the operation of Amazon drones
Amazon drones are not allowed to fly directly over people, nor are they allowed to fly over moving vehicles (unless they are more than 250 feet away). In addition, they cannot fly over schools during school hours, nor over power plants or other areas that are considered high risk. But the devices are also prohibited from flying steadily within a lateral strip less than 76 meters from the roads, nor can they cross them without authorization.
In fact, the latter is truly curious. The Information indicates that, when crossing a road, at least an Amazon employee must officiate spotter to verify that no car is circulating at that time. This means that, as with their failed delivery robots, Prime Air drones need direct human assistance to complete a task designed to be performed autonomously.
But this is not all. The FAA restrictions also stipulate that no person can be within 100 feet of Amazon drones during any instance of flight. This means that the clients they cannot approach the devices to receive their packetswhich is a problem in the event that the delivery is made to houses where there is not enough land to comply with the safe distance.
Amazon Prime Air is still a long way from mass rollout
10 years after its announcement, and a month after its formal launch, the outlook for Amazon Prime Air and its drones is far from optimal. And while the challenges imposed by aviation regulators they do not imply that the service is already doomed to failthey do make it clear that the platform is still a long way from mass deployment.
You also have to consider how the recent Amazon layoffs may affect your drone delivery plan. According to Business Insidersecurity teams operating in Lockeford and College Station, where Prime Air is already available, have been “decimated” due to the cut that affected 18,000 company workers. The firm founded by Jeff Bezos has come out to deny it emphaticallybut the real scope of the measure is still unknown.