Amazon to start drone deliveries this year in California

Amazon is to start its first Prime Air drone deliveries in the US later this year, pending regulatory approval, nearly a decade after it first revealed its plans.

Prime Air plans to begin operating in Lockeford, California, with residents able to sign up for free deliveries on “thousands” of items. Feedback on the deliveries’ success will shape future rollouts, the online giant said, with the hope “this futuristic technology that could one day become just as common as seeing an Amazon delivery van pull up outside your house”.

Amazon is working with the Federal Aviation Administration and local officials in Lockeford – which has around 4,000 residents — to obtain permission for the deliveries, which aim to take less than an hour.

The retailer said it had created a “sense-and-avoid system” that can run at great distances without the need for visual observers while avoiding aircraft, people, pets and obstacles. The system’s algorithms enable the drones to detect both static objects like chimneys alongside moving ones such as aircraft, changing course to avoid collisions, the company said. 

Explaining how deliveries work, the company said: “Once onboarded, customers in Lockeford will see Prime Air-eligible items on Amazon. They will place an order as they normally would and receive an estimated arrival time with a status tracker for their order. For these deliveries, the drone will fly to the designated delivery location, descend to the customer’s backyard, and hover at a safe height. It will then safely release the package and rise back up to altitude.”

Company founder Jeff Bezos first promised to use delivery drones in 2013, saying it would happen within five years. The retailer said it had since tested more than 24 prototypes. In December 2016, a successful trial in Cambridge saw a delivery by drone in 13 minutes and Amazon has since trialled deliveries with Walmart and courier companies FedEx and UPS.

Last year, it was revealed Amazon had cut back its Prime Air division team in Cambridge, though it said it would still have a presence in the UK.