Amazon releases first commercial for drone delivery service

The video, which indicated that the drone flight was real while the situation might be contrived, showed machinery at an Amazon warehouse lifting a package into the belly of a large drone that then took off vertically before flying airplane-style to its destination. 

The first drones capable of autonomous delivery were announced by Amazon back in 2013, but now the e-commerce giant has showcased footage of the finished product in action for the first time, hinting at what customers can expect, once the Prime Air service is up and running. His drone piece tells the story in the "not too distant future" of a little girl who gets her sneaker chewed up by the family dog and has it miraculously replaced by PrimeAir in the space of 30 minutes. 

Amazon says the drones weigh 55 pounds and can carry packages weighing up to 5 pounds. "We have more than a dozen prototypes that we've developed in our research and development labs". The drones fly under 400 feet and use sense-and-avoid technology to dodge potential obstacles. "'Detect and avoid' systems rely on software and given the current climate of hacking and data breaches, it is very important that co-ordinated efforts are made to ensure that systems are put in place which are given the highest level of assurance in terms of security", he said. 

More on Amazon's drone on IndustryWeek. The US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) has strict criteria for commercial drone use and some American politicians have called for the setting up of a drone register. NYSE Post http://nysepost.com/amazon-releases-first-commercial-for-drone-delivery-service-64675