Reuters reports that Amazon has won a concession from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), getting the regulators to allow it to test state-of-the-art delivery drone technology outdoors,though Amazon "must keep flights at an altitude of no more than 400 feet (120 meters) and no faster than 100 miles per hour (160 km per hour)."
The permission comes a month after the FAA had granted permission to test an early - and, Amazon said, obsolete - iteration of the delivery drones. Amazon had criticized the FAA for being out of step with technology, and a threat that the company could move its drone research overseas has hung over the negotiations.
The Reuters story notes that "Seattle-based Amazon.com has been pursuing its goal of sending packages to customers by air, using small, self-piloted aircraft, even as it faces public concern about safety and privacy. The company wants to use drones to deliver packages to its customers over distances of 10 miles (16 km) or more, which would require drones to travel autonomously while equipped with technology to avoid collisions with other aircraft."
The permission comes a month after the FAA had granted permission to test an early - and, Amazon said, obsolete - iteration of the delivery drones. Amazon had criticized the FAA for being out of step with technology, and a threat that the company could move its drone research overseas has hung over the negotiations.
The Reuters story notes that "Seattle-based Amazon.com has been pursuing its goal of sending packages to customers by air, using small, self-piloted aircraft, even as it faces public concern about safety and privacy. The company wants to use drones to deliver packages to its customers over distances of 10 miles (16 km) or more, which would require drones to travel autonomously while equipped with technology to avoid collisions with other aircraft."
- KC's View:
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I've thought all along, even as the FAA was making dissenting noises about commercial use of drones, that Amazon would get its way on this. I'm still not sure how practical it all is, but I a, reasonable certain that it is more practical than most naysayers believe.
After all, normal just begs to be messed with.
