Jeff Bezos has been known for his outlandish claims and ideas, ten years ago the Amazon CEO said everyone would be reading on tablets and now he has shown off a new idea on how to deliver products through Amazon in under thirty minutes, with the help of the Amazon Prime Air drone.
Drone is a complex word, for some it means those small RC helicopters, for others it looks like the future of surveillance, military and security. Both are true in their ways, but Bezos’s drones are built just for the customers who want shipping in under thirty minutes from their local Amazon warehouse.
Amazon Prime Air would work on the assembly line of packaging, after the warehouse staff grab the package it goes on a small line to the drone, which then picks it up, gets the location and takes off to the skies, mapping out its route to make sure it doesn’t hit air traffic.
Bezos did say this would not be available until 2015 when the FCC approves drone flight and then Amazon would need to do R&D to make sure the drone would not drop on someones head and make sure they have the mapping information, down to where the buyer wants the drone to land to deliver the package.
Reasons for Amazon Prime Air to exist include the fact it takes almost no energy, being electric. Compared to a big truck shipping most parcels today, it will help the urban environment exponentially. The drone is also much faster and can ship a parcel as soon as it comes in the Amazon warehouse.
Dominos have also shown how pizza could be delivered in the UK with their drone service. Both are exciting ideas and even though people may feel better getting their pizza from a human rather than a drone, it is all about time, cost and efficiency, three things drones deliver.