Amazon to begin Prime Air drone deliveries in California

Amazon has announced that it will begin to deliver products using Prime Air drones in Lockeford, California, later this year, pending final regulatory approval. It is the first time the ecommerce giant plans to use drones for customer deliveries in the United States. The company had promised drone delivery for years but faced delays and reported setbacks.

Users in Lockeford, California, which is about 40 miles south of Sacramento, will be able to sign up to have thousands of goods delivered by air to their homes. They will then use the feedback they receive from these customers to further improve the system. “Their feedback about Prime Air will help us create a service that will safely scale to meet the needs of customers everywhere.” The company plans to roll out the service more widely after Lockeford.

Amazon has said that it plans to initially deliver products by drone into the backyards of residents in Lockeford, which has a population of about 4,000 people. They also added that at present, their drone technology can detect and fly around obstacles like chimneys. They will be able to fly ‘beyond-line-of-sight’ – which means that they do not have to be controlled by an observer and use sensors to avoid other aircraft, pets, people, and other obstacles.

“It can also detect moving objects on the horizon, like other aircraft, even when it’s hard for people to see them,” Amazon said. “If obstacles are identified, our drone will automatically change course to safely avoid them.” The drone will also make sure that there aren’t people, animals, or any other obstacles at the delivery site, the company said.

While other firms like Alphabet and Walmart have already started to make flying deliveries, Amazon received approval in 2020 from the Federal Aviation Administration to fly drones. Currently, Walmart’s drone delivery program is available to more than 4 million households in the US, and Alphabet’s Wing program has been delivering food and other products in Australia.