Subscribe
Sign in
Amazon
Work Hard. Have Fun. Make History.
Start new thread
Jack Dweck

Prime Air - A future drone delivery system from Amazon

by

Prime Air is Amazon's last-mile delivery solution for the next decade, with autonomous drones that can deliver packages directly to your house in less than an hour. Two-day delivery is already becoming too slow, it seems 👀

Add a comment

Replies

Best
Saul Sutcher
I just love how jeremy clarkson is the narrator.
matt
@saulsutcher I can't wait for the "Drone in a Reasonably Priced Car" segment.
Smokie
@mattschaar @saulsutcher As long as Prime Air doesn't use the same drone pilots that drive The Grand Tour drones we should be good! ;)
Edward Woodcock
@mattschaar @saulsutcher Or 'celebrity in a reasonably priced drone'?
Jack Dweck
Hunter
Amazon published a video showing off its new Prime Air design, and it's a beauty! 😍 This is a big departure from the initial version, announced in 2013. Prime Air is a project by Amazon which promises delivery by drone in 30 minutes or less. Though it's not yet publicly available, Jeff Bezos estimates it'll officially launch in 3-4 years. With this latest version, it looks like Amazon is making significant progress and is taking this project very seriously. I want this right now, @JeffBezos!
Loic Le Meur
I don't see this happening, I think this is just PR. Do we really want a world with noisy flying drones carrying stuff for delivery all around us in the air? I love drones but I really don't see this at all.
Alex Bush
@loic it's inevitable.
Pierre Lechelle
@loic It will happen, one way or another... We already have a world filled with cars, buses and all sorts of noises. Why not drones? Don't see this happening in Paris though, the drone would have to get into my apartment :D
Ryan Crosbie
@loic Super valid point, and one that I share with you completely. But there was a time when they said the same thing about the airplane.
Benjamin Saks
I would like to see how the regulatory environment looks in 3-4 years. I have been an avid model airplane builder for about 15 years and an AMA member. A drone flying 1-2lb of cargo over subdivisions would be the stuff of dreams, yet would be a litigation disaster the first time it failed. It happens a lot now, look how the film world has been disrupted by drones, mostly unregulated, and a lot of profit has been made. I think there is a bright future for this, on both the product side and the legal/regulatory side.
Donny Reynolds
I don't know if Amazon has addressed this, but I'm still largely concerned about theft. With a package hanging in the air visible to everybody, how does Amazon prevent drone-hunting? If Joe shot a drone passing by his backyard, how would Amazon salvage the package and track down the offender?
matt
@dovizu There's just as much of a concern re: theft from FedEx, UPS, and USPS trucks. In some ways, having a single point of transit means it's far easier to manage damage claims and returns. I'd also venture that this will only be available for certain types of purchases - either by dollar value or parcel type - that will mitigate theft.
Joshua Pinter
Little known fact is that the Drones are piloted by their tamed racing pilot, The Stig.
Niv Dror
The video makes me think of "Uber for Drones"
Anton Anisimov
How it will deliver to the condos? There is no so much space for landing. Might bombard mode through the window? :)
Edward Woodcock
@invoodoo We'll most likely end up having a roof-mounted drone drop-zone in multi-buildings.
Vrashabh
Drone + Jezza == POWER!
Smokie
@vrashabh But can you mend the drones with a hammer?
Ryan Hoover
Amazon just released a video of their first autonomous delivery. Pretty incredible. More on Recode.
Matt Horton
I love the number of people commenting with entirely solvable problems as if they're going to ruin this.
Tyler Hayes
Reese Brandon
https://www.faa.gov/news/updates... Keep your aircraft in site at all times? Ho do they manage that...
Matt Shobe
@reese_brandon The regulatory environment will need to evolve to allow BLoS (beyond line of sight) commercial operations. But it's already evolved to the point where small business drone ops without a pilot's license no longer require onerous one-off FAA authorization. (And other countries are looser/further ahead on regulations than the US). 2020 should see this kind of delivery as the New Normal in the right locations – maybe not _everywhere_ – but a lot of places.
Shardul
This is awesome. Can't wait for this to become a reality. Amazon already leads the pack in terms of delivery, it would be interesting to see which partnerships come about from this. I suspect Amazon will buy a drone startup before launch to ensure reliability and accuracy. This video looks amazing - give me my sneakers now, @jeffbezos!
Chema
I see sooooo many things can go wrong: 1- Heavy wind 2- Crash with a bird or other fast object 3- Drone gets down by external force (some redneck shooting at it or kids throwing stones) 4- What happens in big cities? its only for countryside I understand? I love the idea anyway :D
Matteo Fabbri
@deambulando i'm waiting for the opportunity to shoot thoose things ! <3
Agha Zain
I wonder how this will deliver to apartment complexes.
» Luis Herranz
@aghazain well, the drones just have to ring the bell, fly upstairs and knock on your door. Or maybe knock on your window and shoot the package inside.
Marcel Bradea
@aghazain you do balcony drop-off. It will take better sensors/precision and possibly a pre-set Amazon landing pad/zone on your balcony (which the owner can be made liable for maintaining clear).... but if I can stop going to the grocery store and have my stuff just pop up at my home I would move to an apartment with a balcony if I had to.
Agha Zain
@marcel_bradea what you said makes sense for apartments with balconies. For others, even rooftop access (for both the drone and the receiver) could solve the issue for the time being for apartments without balconies/patios.
Agha Zain
Reony T
Pretty awesome potential here! Curious to know what you do with the box after its delivered?
sri
Privacy concerns about flying over somebody's home? Is that solved or accounted for? Will President elect Trump allow this technology that can shave postal jobs?
Stowe Boyd
Note that bc of drone regulations, this drone has to fly over agricultural land, not a cityscape. This is the major limitation now on drone use. That and battery technology.
François
This is really cool. I need a garden now :)