Amazon’s drone delivery service, Prime Air, will begin serving US customers by the end of this year, the company has announced.
Drone deliveries will first launch in Lockeford, California, a community with a population of about 3,500. Prime Air is collaborating with both the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Lockeford’s local officials on an ongoing basis, and will obtain permission from the appropriate authorities to begin drone delivery operations.
Amazon has developed a sense-and-avoid system to enable drone deliveries to take place without a visual observer. The system was created for operations of distances greater than 15 miles and to ensure safety by avoiding obstacles and preventing collisions. It was designed to change the drone’s course and avoid both stationary and moving obstacles.
“We designed our sense-and-avoid system for two main scenarios: to be safe when in transit, and to be safe when approaching the ground,” Amazon said in a statement. “When flying to the delivery location, the drones need to be able to identify static and moving obstacles. Our algorithms use a diverse suite of technologies for object detection.”
According to the company, safety at the moment of delivery is critical. The Prime Air drone will check for a small area at the delivery location that is free of obstructions before descending toward the ground, hovering, and releasing the package.
The FAA’s air carrier certificate is required to operate drones that utilise sense-and-avoid technology to perform flights without a visual observer. According to Amazon, “Prime Air is one of only three drone-delivery companies that has gone through the rigorous process” to earn this certificate from the FAA.
Amazon Prime customers in Lockeford that use the free Prime Air delivery option will be an important reference point as the company continues developing the technology and scales up operations to offer delivery services to more customers.
According to Amazon, the inaugural launch in Lockeford will include investments into the community, job creation and new partnerships with local businesses and organisations.
Heidi Schubert, senior software engineer at Prime Air, who creates drone traffic management software for enabling delivery services, said: “We build a map of the area and use it to plan a detailed route that helps the drone get to its destination safely. This is about using robot motion to provide value to customers and communities.”
