Amazon makes first DRONE delivery in UK as it drops off POPCORN
AMAZON boffins claim to have delivered the firm's first parcel by remote-controlled drone.
Amazon has made its first drone delivery in Cambridge
Founder and chief executive Jeff Bezos claimed the achievement in Cambridgeshire in a tweet.
The American billionaire wrote: “First-ever Amazon Prime Air customer delivery is in the books. 13 min – click to delivery.”
Questions over the safety of drones remain after several reports of near-misses with commercial aircraft. Amazon said further trials – also in Britain – will deliver packages of up to 5lb in under 30 minutes.
In a glossy video, the US company showed a Cambridgeshire man, called “Richard B”, ordering an Amazon Fire TV and some popcorn. An announcement at the Amazon depot later confirms the delivery.
Amazon founder and chief executive Jeff Bezos claimed the achievement in a tweet
He said the delivery took 13 minutes
The short film insists that the footage of the drone taking off with the product is the actual debut flight and not a simulation. The drone is believed to have been tested in a field near Worsted Lodge, eight miles south of Cambridge, where Amazon UK has a research and development site.
First-ever Amazon Prime Air customer delivery is in the books
The custom-designed prototypes can take off and land vertically, and fly over distances of up to 10 miles at an altitude of 400ft. Amazon has proposed using its drones in “segregated blocks of airspace below 500ft and away from most manned aviation operations”.
The company also said its drones will use “sense and avoid” technology and data will be continuously gathered throughout the trial to make improvements, saying safety was its “top priority”.
The Gadget Show tests the latest drone technology
It intends to begin the service in 2018. Any customers would be required to have a large garden and live within 10 miles of a depot.
On its website, Amazon says: “It looks like science fiction but it’s real. “One day, seeing Prime Air vehicles will be as normal as seeing mail trucks on the road.”