Skip to main content

Amazon Shows Off Latest Prime Air Delivery Drone Prototype In New Video

By
(Amazon)
Two years after Amazon debuted its delivery drone to the masses, the e-commerce giant is back with a new demo video showing its latest prototype for its Prime Air unmanned aerial vehicle.

Amazon enlisted British broadcaster Jeremy Clarkson — known for his gig co-hosting TV show Top Gear — to narrate a scene depicting the company’s vision of the delivery future: when your “naughty, naughty” bulldog eats your daughter’s soccer cleat before the big game, Prime Air could come in handy by bringing a replacement set of footwear through the air from a warehouse and setting it down in the family yard. All in 30 minutes or less, Amazon says.

“In time there will be a whole family of Amazon drones, different designs for different environments,” Clarkson says in the footage, while the drone coasts over a suburban landscape. “This one can fly for 15 miles,” he says. “And it knows what’s happening around it. It uses ‘sense and avoid’ technology to, well, sense and then avoid obstacles on the ground and in the air.”

Compared to Amazon’s first delivery drone video, released in December 2013, the new version of the aircraft appears to fly higher and seems more stable.

“Amazon Prime Air is a future service that will deliver packages up to five pounds in 30 minutes or less using small drones,” Amazon says on its Prime Air site.”Flying under 400 feet and weighing less than 55 pounds, Prime Air vehicles will take advantage of sophisticated ‘sense and avoid’ technology, as well as a high degree of automation, to safely operate beyond the line of sight to distances of 10 miles or more.”

There are a few intentional things in that statement: an early draft of the Federal Aviation Administration’s rules for drones required drones to stay within a user’s line of sight, but with this video, Amazon is perhaps trying to show that the vehicles can be flown safely at farther distances.

Mentioning the weight of less than 55 pounds is also in response to the FAA, which is currently working on its rules for registering drones that weigh — you guessed it! — less than 55 pounds.

“Putting Prime Air into service will take some time,” Amazon said. “We will deploy when we have the regulatory support needed to realize our vision.”


by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Chrysler Deletes Its Dating Apps, Decides To Remain Single For Now

By
They say you can’t have a healthy relationship until you’re happy with yourself. That appears to be the new mantra for Fiat Chrysler: After several attempts to woo General Motors and more recently Volkswagen , the carmaker’s top executive says he plans to ditch his lovelorn ways to concentrate on his company’s bottom line.  Bloomberg reports that CEO Sergio Marchionne has turned his focus to eliminating FCA’s debt rather than eliminating its single status. Marchionne has set a goal of erasing FCA’s debt by 2019, the same year he’s set to retire. To do that, he says the company needs to do a little work on itself. “We need to be very careful that we don’t start unrealistic dreams about consolidation as we are on our way to achieve historically important results and a debt-free position,” Marchionne told investors at the carmaker’s annual meeting in Amsterdam, as reported by Bloomberg. “We are not at a point of time to discuss any alliance.” Yes, you heard that right: The man w...
Post a Comment
Read more

Study Claims 43% Of “Wild” Salmon In Stores & Restaurants Isn’t Wild At All

By
That wild salmon entrée calling to you from the menu at dinner might not be all it’s advertised. In fact a new study released Wednesday found evidence of mislabeling in nearly half of all salmon sold in restaurants and grocery stores.  The study [ PDF ] from international environmental advocacy group, Oceana, analyzed 82 salmon samples from restaurants and grocery stores, finding that 43% of the products were mislabeled. DNA testing confirmed that 69% of the mislabeled product consisted of farmed Atlantic salmon being sold as wild-caught product. According to the report, consumers satisfying their salmon craving in restaurants are misled about 67% of the time, while those who buy their seafood in a grocery store are misled 20% of the time. “Americans might love salmon, but as our study reveals, they may be falling victim to a bait and switch,” Beth Lowell, senior campaign director at Oceana, said . “When consumers opt for wild-caught U.S. salmon, they don’t expect to get a far...
Post a Comment
Read more

Introduction to Biology (IX Biology Notes Chapter 01)

By
Science: Our universe operates under certain principles. For understanding of these principles, the experiments are done and observations are made; on the basis of which logical conclusions are drawn. Such a study is called "Science". In brief science is the knowledge based on experiments and observations. Biology: The Scientific study of living organisms is called Biology. The word biology is derived from two Greek words "bios" meaning life and "logos" meaning thought, discourse, reasoning or study. It means that all aspects of life and every type of living organism are discussed in biology. Branches of Biology: Biology is divided into following branches: Morphology The study of form and structure of living organisms is called morphology. It can be further divided into following two parts: 1. The study of external parts of living organism is called external morphology. 2. The study of internal parts of living organism is calle...
Post a Comment
Read more