It has been quite a long time since Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos first put forth plans to initiate a fully-functioning drone delivery fleet for the e-Commerce giant. Today, June 13, the firm has finally officially laid out plans to have a base form of the Amazon Prime Air drone fleet set in Lockeford, California. The new service will go online later this year following regulatory approval via the Federal Aviation Administration, which the company already did back in 2020 before scaling back the business venture.
The Prime Air fleet by Amazon has come under fire over the years for a plethora of setbacks, most prominent among them being drone crashes. An entire rundown is brought front and center from Wired, which details from various internal sources the so-called "dysfunctional" and "collapsing inwards" UK-based Amazon Prime operations. Despite these issues, the operational capacity behind this endeavor has remained at the forefront of the company.
Of key importance for the brand is swerving on all of the myriad technical constraints and crashes that riddle the entire history of the Amazon Prime Air fleet. Now, the company will utilize more sophisticated internal drone systems to circumvent these concerns. Primary for the Amazon Prime Air drone will be the Beyond the Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operational procedure, allowing the devices to run at distances much farther than the visible range of the pilot.
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The company is also implementing sophisticated obstacle avoidance systems into its drones and notes that thus far, amid testing, the Amazon Prime Air fleet can accurately read and dodge various obstructions, including people and pets, aircraft, and more. Thus far, the drone fleet will operate solely in Lockeford per regulatory approvals with the potential of expanding its Amazon Prime Air locations if the process seems promising.
"Lockerford residents will soon have access to one of the world's leading delivery innovations. It's exciting that Amazon will be listening to the feedback of the San Joaquin County community to inform the future development of this technology," said Heath Flora, California State Assemblyman in a press release.
The potential behind Amazon Prime Air relies solely on its ability to run operations in accordance with FAA regulations. Just like any formal aircraft operation or assorted drone company procedures, Amazon will first have to acquire the FAA's Part 135 certification for full finalization, ensuring the e-commerce giant's commercial drone operations are up to par with the National Environmental Policy Act.
When set in stone with approval, the Amazon Prime Air fleet would thereby be capable of delivering a purported list of "thousands" of eligible items to Lockeford residents. The cargo would be dropped off to consumers in their backyards, with users ordering and waiting for the drone to arrive on the same day. The Amazon Prime Air drone will drop its payload from a safe height before whisking off back to headquarters.
A plethora of issues have marred the potential behind drone delivery. Some of the biggest names in technology, including the likes of Uber, Alphabet, and Amazon, have attempted such iterations over the years, seemingly to no avail. One such outlier in the mix is Wing, an Uber eats-like service that utilizes drones instead of delivery drivers. It has already begun full-service operations in Dallas, Texas, on Apr. 7.
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