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Transportation United States

Amazon Wins FAA Approval For Prime Air Drone Delivery Fleet (cnbc.com) 48

Posted by msmash from the moving-forward dept.
Amazon received federal approval to operate its fleet of Prime Air delivery drones, a milestone that allows it to expand unmanned package delivery, the Federal Aviation Administration said Monday. From a report: The approval will give Amazon broad privileges to "safely and efficiently deliver packages to customers," the FAA said. The FAA certification comes under Part 135 of FAA regulations, which gives Amazon the ability to carry property on small drones "beyond the visual line of sight" of the operator. Amazon said it will use the FAA's certification to begin testing customer deliveries. The company said it went through rigorous training and submitted detailed evidence that its drone delivery operations are safe, including demonstrating the technology for FAA inspectors. "This certification is an important step forward for Prime Air and indicates the FAA's confidence in Amazon's operating and safety procedures for an autonomous drone delivery service that will one day deliver packages to our customers around the world" David Carbon, vice president of Prime Air, said in a statement. "We will continue to develop and refine our technology to fully integrate delivery drones into the airspace, and work closely with the FAA and other regulators around the world to realize our vision of 30 minute delivery."
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Amazon Wins FAA Approval For Prime Air Drone Delivery Fleet More

Amazon Wins FAA Approval For Prime Air Drone Delivery Fleet

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  • He who has he gold makes the rules. Amazon gets to do whatever it wants but mere mortals such as search & rescue have to curtail our activities to the point of being useless.

    • Re:MANY problems with drones (Score:5, Informative)

      by ShanghaiBill ( 739463 ) on Monday August 31, 2020 @10:13AM (#60458714)

      Problems with flying cars and drones [slashdot.org]

      All of these "problems" are either silly, misinformed, or no worse than the alternative of multi-ton delivery vans driving through neighborhoods.

      • I do worry about one of these things falling out of the air and hitting something.

        Also the drones to replace people, not vans. The multi-ton vans are still there. The goal is to replace the delivery guy with a robot. I don't generally worry about deliverymen falling out of the sky, Despite what the Weather Girls tell you.

        • "I do worry about one of these things falling out of the air and hitting something. "

          Don't worry, it's very light, or the drone couldn't carry it, also, inside there is a brand-new free iPhone.

      • "All of these "problems" are either silly, misinformed, or no worse than the alternative of multi-ton delivery vans driving through neighborhoods."

        It's not the 'driving' part making problems, it's the 'stopping for a delivery' part.

  • Drone Deliveries yay! (Score:5, Funny)

    by Fly Swatter ( 30498 ) on Monday August 31, 2020 @10:18AM (#60458742) Homepage
    First drone order:

    [Day 1]
    14:28 Package on drone for delivery.
    14:29 Delivery exception: delivery delayed due to high winds.

    [Day 2]
    13:58 Package on drone for delivery.
    13:59 Drone launched, package on way.
    14:00 Delivery exception: delivery lost, package stuck in tree.

    [Day 3] Replacement package sent, no cost.

    [Day 5]
    13:44 Package on drone for delivery.
    13:45 Drone launched, package on way.
    13:49 Delivery exception: delivery lost, package damaged, drone stuck in wind chimes.

    [Day 6] Replacement package sent, no cost.

    [Day 8]
    14:03 Package on drone for delivery.
    14:04 Drone launched, package on way.
    14:05 Package delivered, location: roof.

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by algaeman ( 600564 )
      You missed the days where they are shot down or collected for parts.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by tflf ( 4410717 )

        You missed the days where they are shot down or collected for parts.

        And the days with heavy rain or fog or snow squalls or blizzards or -40F temperatures or extreme windchill, etc. etc. etc.
        All sorts of normal and expected weather conditions (depending on where you live) will be a challenge for drones to navigate safely.

    • Re:Drone Deliveries yay! (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Alain Williams ( 2972 ) <addw@phcomp.co.uk> on Monday August 31, 2020 @10:28AM (#60458806) Homepage

      Who pays for the replacement packages ? Amazon or the vendor selling through Amazon ?

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by DogDude ( 805747 )
        Good point. We all know the answer to that question.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by DarkOx ( 621550 )

          Its just shrink, who pays for the shop lifting or the cost of security to prevent it with traditional retail, who pays for damages in traditional shipping?

          Answer ultimately it gets rolled into the cost of good sold, which in turn is ultimately rolled into the retail price if it can be. Otherwise if it can't be than the contribution margin is to small to support the product or range of products and they disappear from the market place.

          So the only really interesting question is; is delivery by drone cheaper t

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by DogDude ( 805747 )
            Well, no.

            If I pay UPS to delivery my package, and they fail to do so, I don't have to pay for it.

            If I pay FedEx to delivery my package, and they fail to do so, I don't have to pay for it.

            Considering what sort of company Amazon is, I'm sure that if I pay Amazon to deliver my package, and they fail, I'll still have to pay for it. Of course, we're all just talking out of our asses at this point, but Amazon has not proven itself to be a company that ever does the right thing.

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by DarkOx ( 621550 )

              If I pay UPS to delivery my package, and they fail to do so, I don't have to pay for it.

              If I pay FedEx to delivery my package, and they fail to do so, I don't have to pay for it.

              I don't know if they refund deliveries that don't even happen or not; never had that experience. They certainly don't converge stuff damaged in shipping unless you paid extra up front for insurance on the item. Which can be quite costly for valuables.

              Whatever they do offer in terms of rebates, its certainly built in the price of shipping in general. In cases like Amazon where you are often given free shipping those costs are in turn rolled in the price you are paying for the goods. Sometimes not always yo

      • what about drone maintenance you can't dump that on to 1099's drone operators to get out of safety / lawsuits

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by antdude ( 79039 )

        Amazon if it is their drones' faults.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by Nidi62 ( 1525137 )

      First drone order:


      [Day 1]

      14:28 Package on drone for delivery.

      14:29 Delivery exception: delivery delayed due to high winds.

      [Day 2]

      13:58 Package on drone for delivery.

      13:59 Drone launched, package on way.

      14:00 Delivery exception: delivery lost, package stuck in tree.

      [Day 3] Replacement package sent, no cost.

      [Day 5]

      13:44 Package on drone for delivery.

      13:45 Drone launched, package on way.

      13:49 Delivery exception: delivery lost, package damaged, drone stuck in wind chimes.

      [Day 6] Replacement package sent, no cost.

      [Day 8]

      14:03 Package on drone for delivery.

      14:04 Drone launched, package on way.

      14:05 Package delivered, location: roof.

      Amazon Customer Service:

      "I see you keep reporting that your packages aren't being delivered, but why do your previous orders include an extra-large fishing net, carabiners, eye screws, and shotgun shells? GPS tracking also shows we have lost contact with numerous delivery drones near your address."

    • As for the other examples you've pointed out, we'll build our homes around them. We'll have to because we need stuff and they're the ones with stuff. Yes, we can buy in town, but buying online from an automated delivery system will be cheaper, and everybody is always trying to save a buck, especially with stagnant and/or declining wages.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by tflf ( 4410717 )

        As for the other examples you've pointed out, we'll build our homes around them. We'll have to because we need stuff and they're the ones with stuff. Yes, we can buy in town, but buying online from an automated delivery system will be cheaper, and everybody is always trying to save a buck, especially with stagnant and/or declining wages.

        Designing and building to facilitate drone delivery will probably increase design and building costs, and certainly impact the practical usage of a home or apartment building. And there will be a visual impact. I suspect few would be willing to sacrifice highly desired home design features, and/or landscaping features (trees being an obvious example), and pay added costs of building, simply to facilitate drone delivery.
        Further, it would likely take years, (and perhaps decades) before "drone-delivery" savi

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by DarkOx ( 621550 )

          Putting in 4'x4' concrete pad would not be much of problem at all for quite a lot of suburbia, and more rural residents alike. I suspect many would jump at the chance to spend $50 on a few sacks of quickcrete if the outcome was more same day deliveries.

          In denser neighborhoods there are already shared mailbox clusters and stuff, just put the drone pad there. Sure there is a 'porch piracy' risk there, but same with every other piece of mail those folks are getting. Places with those setups tend to have an "as

          • Trying to use a mailbox or gang-box for anything but USPS would take an act of Federal Congress. Even so, theft would be much higher than normal porch-pirates. And it is not protected from the weather like a front porch is.

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by DarkOx ( 621550 )

              The mailbox gang itself yes; but the area set aside for it not really. Usually there is a ample space around those things even existing parking spaces. Many of them are even under a little portico type thing to keep people someone what out of the weather while they get mail or place mail. Just adding a little extra space for drone landings probably not an issue,

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by Merk42 ( 1906718 )
      [Day 1]
      14:28 Package with human for delivery.
      14:29 Delivery exception: delivery delayed due to traffic accident.

      [Day 2]
      13:58 Package with human for delivery.
      13:59 Human in transit, package on way.
      14:00 Delivery exception: delivery lost, package delivered to wrong address.

      [Day 3] Replacement package sent, no cost.

      [Day 5]
      13:44 Package with human for delivery.
      13:45 Human in transit, package on way.
      13:49 Delivery exception: delivery lost, package damaged, human crashed vehicle.

  • I still remember that camera drone that nearly hit a downhill skier, it was not a cheap home use drone, so these things happen with pro equipment.

    Well, I guess this will work until the first injuries or deaths.

  • Drone delivery (Score:3)

    by GerryHattrick ( 1037764 ) on Monday August 31, 2020 @10:38AM (#60458848)
    Who has the accurate map of overhead wires?

    • I am guessing that all you really need to do is fly above any possible obstacle (say 200 ft) and then just descend vertically once you are at the delivery zone. Then ascend and beeline back.

    • The FAA tracks overhead wires that could interfere with flight.

      • The FAA tracks very large overhead wires 500 ft or more above ground level. It does not have a clue where the power wires attached to houses are.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by ebvwfbw ( 864834 )

      Jeppesen data. They make the GPS databases for aircraft. Towers, other objects. All that crap is kept track of and we have to update our avionics it seems like every day. It's actually 65 days if I remember right. Kicker is when they make a change it'll take a year to show up in the database and remove the notice to airmen.

      They charge according to the aircraft. Even with my aircraft it's expensive.

  • in 3...2...1...
  • I am calling bullshit on the government, as they manage drones.
  • Stealing Amazon packages just got even easier! Thieves also get a bonus drone with their stolen item! Okay, sure, I'm sure Amazon isn't totally oblivious to the risks of theft in this scenario. I'm willing to bet that it's a challenge that career criminals will find to overcome. Heck, good old smash-n-grab is still in play.

    • Re:Stealing Amazon packages (Score:4, Insightful)

      by fafalone ( 633739 ) on Monday August 31, 2020 @01:48PM (#60459432)
      People follow the trucks and just grab shit off the porch. You think shooting down a drone is easier to do and get away with?
      • I think it's easier to follow an unmanned drone than a driver in a truck. The guy in the truck might get suspicious, after all. I wouldn't be surprised if someone simple set a trap for the drones. Something as unsophisticated as, I don't know, a silk net. You'd be surprised how crafty cooks can get.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by DarkOx ( 621550 )

      I'm willing to bet that it's a challenge that career criminals will find to overcome.

      Well sure. We live in a society that has things like police that we collectively pay for to enable commerce to take place without us all individually having to go out and hire Pinkertons to protect our shipments, watch our store fronts, escort us home with valuables etc. I mean sure if a your city is run by a Democrat its increasingly looking like bad mashup between Madmax and Shane out there but most of the country isn't like that.

      As rule crime does not pay, except for a hanful of folks at the top of the c

      • Ah, somebody had to politicize a good joke at some point. I digress - if you think there aren't smart criminals out there pulling grifts every day then you're pretty naive. Yes, there will be theft and loss and stuff will fall off of trucks and people will get caught and I don't even know if they're gonna use said drones out in the country where you Republicans go to cook your meth and bang your oxycontin

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by DarkOx ( 621550 )

          ooh I touched somebodies raw nerve.

          Yes people are pulling grifts every day. Most of them are making penuts, they literally could do better as baristas, filling their taxes and claiming the EIT. You can't fix stupid.

          Sure those same grifters get a windfall once in a while too, with a big score. That is great until you divide the payoff there over the 5 years they spend in the pokey when the law finally catches up to them and it usually does.

  • But the drones have all to look like Santa and they drop the packages down the chimney.

    The chimney industry will go nuts.

  • Let the hunting season begin!

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