Prime Air is a drone delivery service currently in development by Amazon. Operations were expected to begin in select cities starting late 2019; however, as of July 2020, the service has yet to materialize. The service uses delivery drones manufactured by unnamed entity to autonomously fly individual packages to customers within 30 minutes of ordering. To qualify for 30-minute delivery, the order must be less than 5 pounds, must be small enough to fit in the cargo box that the craft will carry, and must have a delivery location within a 10-mile radius of a participating Amazon order fulfillment center.
History
Concept
In 2013, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos revealed plans for Amazon Prime Air in an interview on 60 Minutes. The Amazon Prime Air team worked with NASA and Single European Sky ATM on trials using the Amazon air traffic management system. For additional safety, drones will fly at low altitudes. There are no roads or fixed routes so there are many more options to get from point A to point B, that is why navigating a drone through the air is very different than a car driving on a road. Amazon claims their traffic management system is easy to use for various operators in the same airspace because it will connect via the internet.
United States regulations and testing under waiver program
In the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, Congress issued the Federal Aviation Administration a deadline of September 30, 2015 to accomplish a "safe integration of civil unmanned aircraft systems into the national airspace system." In August 2016 commercial use of UAV technology was legalized by the United States Congress. In March 2015, the FAA granted Amazon permission to begin U.S. testing of a prototype under a waiver to the then regulations. Amazon reported that the vehicle cleared for use was obsolete. In April 2015, the FAA allowed Amazon to begin testing current models. In the interim, Amazon had begun testing at a Canadian site close to the United States border. Current U.S. regulations required drones fly no higher than 400 ft, no faster than 100 mph, and remain within the pilot's line of sight. Amazon has stated it intends to move towards operating above 200 ft and beneath 500 ft. Amazon has stated it plans to fly drones weighing up to 55 lb within a 10 mi radius of its warehouses, at speeds of up to 50 mph with packages weighing up to 5 lb in tow.
Delivery deployment development
Amazon has patented a beehive-like structure to house delivery drones in cities, allowing Amazon to move from large single-story warehouses that temporarily store packages before they are shipped. Fulfillment centres designed to accommodate drone deliveries and operations within a certain radius are currently required. This was announced in a video released by Amazon. On December 15, 2016, Amazon began its first publicly available trial of Amazon Prime Air to those within several miles of Amazon's depot in Cambridge, England.
First deliveries
On December 7, 2016, Amazon successfully delivered a Prime Air parcel to Cambridge, England. Amazon had built a Prime Air fulfillment center in the Cambridge area. Amazon posted a video of the delivery on their official YouTube channel, on December 14, 2016.
Internet connection and information storage
Amazon Prime Air drones will be connected to the internet to allow for flight control management, and communication between drones. It has been reported by Brookings that Amazon's data collection usage from drones has not been disclosed. The Pittsburgh Journal of Technology Law and Policy, have reported proposed data collection from Amazon Prime Air drones as including; automated object detection, GPS surveillance, gigapixel cameras, and enhanced image resolution.
Self-driving cars
s also fall under the Prime Air division's responsibility. While the last mile of a delivery is the most expensive and human drivers are the primary cost there is limited news about autonomous road vehicle deliveries. Amazon was granted a patent for reversible lanes in 2017.
