The U. S. tech giant is unveiling a new generation of drones at its Seattle headquarters, but declines to say where in the country they will be introduced first.
Amazon has announced plans to start delivering parcels using drones for the first time in the UK and Italy in a bid to get its ambitious air delivery program off the ground.
The U. S. tech giant announced on Wednesday that it will introduce the delivery of autonomous aircraft to Britain and Italy “until the end of 2024,” a decade after it publicly set its attractions in the skies. It expects to deliver 500 million packages via drones a year. until the end of the decade.
The announcement comes as Amazon unveiled its next-generation drone at its Seattle headquarters. David Carbon, Vice President of Prime Air at Amazon, said: “We are excited to announce the expansion of Prime Air delivery internationally, for the first time outdoors. of the U. S.
“We’ve built a reliable delivery service and worked intensively with regulators and communities. “
The company’s drone-based service is ultimately only available in two small locations in California and Texas, where it was introduced less than a year ago. Amazon intends to set up a third site in the U. S. The U. S. government will be released next year.
Amazon first announced its plans to use drones for delivery in 2013, stoking expectations of a new era of even faster package delivery. “It’s going to work, it’s going to happen, and it’s going to be a lot of fun,” its founder said. Jeff Bezos told CBS’s 60 Minutes at the time.
But progress has been slow. The company announced its Prime Air service (in Lockeford, California, and College Station, Texas) late last year, and CNBC reported in May that its drones had made just 100 deliveries. In the past, it had set an internal target of 10,000 this year.
Since then, it has increased, according to Amazon. Amazon’s drones have delivered “thousands” of packages, Carbon said. “And we have thousands of customers. “
The company made a small-scale drone delivery in the UK in 2016.
While drone delivery to consumers outside the U. S. While the U. S. will be a major step forward, Amazon’s announcement is unclear. The company has pledged to “start with a site” in the U. K. and Italy and “expand over time,” but executives declined to say. where in each country they would pitch first.
As part of an “elaborate plan,” Carbon told reporters at a briefing that the tech giant would send drones from a number of locations in the United States, the United Kingdom and Italy. “We’ll open more services over time,” dijo. no is a market test. Our customers, and frankly, our communities, want this kind of sustainable service.
The service “will start slowly,” Carbon added. The tests have been carried out. We know that the drone has a proven track record.
In comments provided via Amazon, Baroness Vere, the UK’s Minister for Transport, said: “Today’s announcement via Amazon is an example of how government and industry are working in combination to achieve our shared vision that advertising drones will be commonplace in the UK until 2030. “
Amazon is far from trying to hack drone deliveries. Other key players in the market include Walmart, the American retail giant, and Alphabet, which owns Google. Strict regulatory needs have forced operators to take a steep road.
In the United Kingdom, the Civil Aviation Authority sees Amazon’s first launch as an opportunity to be informed about how drones can operate safely in the country’s airspace. A “best-case” scenario outlined in a government policy document last summer raised the possibility of more than 900,000 drones operating over Britain.
Amazon on Tuesday opened the doors of its drone factory on the outskirts of Seattle for the first time to the media and a new model, the MK30, which it plans to put into service in time for its launches in 2024 in the United Kingdom and Italy.
Unlike the drone being used lately at Lockeford and College Station, which requires a delivery block committed to a QR code to deliver products to customers, the MK30 doesn’t need such a marker. The plane will also be able to fly in light rain. According to Amazon, winds will be more powerful and at night, unlike its predecessors, although when it will do so will be a matter for regulators.
In the U. K. , as in the U. S. , the organization will first have to call observers and make sure its drones don’t exceed their field of view, though it hopes this will replace it soon. Av Zammit, a spokesperson for Amazon, said: “Our hope and purpose is that when we start operating [in countries like the UK], there is a framework that necessarily ensures that we get out of line of sight very quickly.
The company is keen to address the security concerns of regulators and customers. Carbon claimed that ordering an item delivered via the MK30 drone would be “hundreds of times safer” than going to a store to buy it.