U.S. online commerce giant Amazon announced it will soon test the delivery drone technology in Britain following the approval from the British government.
Amazon said it partnered with the British government to explore ways to make parcel delivery through drones a reality in the country.
“The UK is a leader in enabling drone innovation – we’ve been investing in Prime Air research and development here for quite some time,” said Paul Misener, Amazon’s Vice President of Global Innovation Policy and Communications.
“This announcement strengthens our partnership with the UK and brings Amazon closer to our goal of using drones to safely deliver parcels in 30 minutes to customers in the UK and elsewhere around the world.”
Amazon will “immediately” begin testing delivery drones in the U.K. pic.twitter.com/yDl55V8opP
— Popular Science (@PopSci) July 26, 2016
Amazon designed Prime Air as a system to deliver packages weighing up to five pounds in 30 minutes using drones.
The American online company said Prime Air will enhance its services to its millions of customers as it increases the safety and efficiency of its parcel delivery.
“Putting Prime Air into service will take some time, but we will deploy when we have the regulatory support needed to realize our vision,” Amazon said.
Amazon’s delivery drones have been given a big boost by the UK government pic.twitter.com/IbUlVFBQIL
— Wired UK (@WiredUK) July 26, 2016
A government team and the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) allowed Amazon to explore three key tests: flying drones that go beyond the sight of their operators, testing devices that enable drones to identify and avoid obstacles, and having one person operate multiple automated drones.
The results of the tests will help develop future policy and regulations in the delivery drone business.
“We want to enable the innovation that arises from the development of drone technology by safely integrating drones into the overall aviation system,” said Tim Johnson, CAA Policy Director.
“These tests by Amazon will help inform our policy and future approach.”
On Friday, convenience retailer 7-Eleven and drone startup Flirtey collaborated in the transport of items that included chicken sandwiches, hot coffee and donuts in the first government-approved drone delivery in the U.S.
The food items loaded into a special box were flown to a family in Reno, Nevada.
“We’re absolutely thrilled to have 7-Eleven, the largest convenience chain in the world, embracing new technologies and working with us at Flirtey to make drone delivery a reality for customers all over the world,” said Flirtey chief executive Matt Sweeny.
“Drone delivery is the ultimate convenience for our customers and these efforts create enormous opportunities to redefine convenience,” said Jesus Delgado-Jenkins, 7-Eleven’s chief marketing officer.
This year, the Federal Aviation Administration revised regulations allowing commercial drone operations in U.S. airspace. The rules allowed drone operators to fly commercial craft weighing less than 25 kilograms during daylight hours.
The U.S. government estimates that the drone business could create some 100,000 jobs and generate more than $82 billion for the country’s economy in the next decade.
“We are part of a new era in aviation, and the potential for unmanned aircraft will make it safer and easier to do certain jobs, gather information, and deploy disaster relief,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.
“We look forward to working with the aviation community to support innovation, while maintaining our standards as the safest and most complex airspace in the world.”
