Amazon claims to have started using drones to deliver to a select group of customers in Phoenix, Arizona, just months after terminating its drone-based delivery program, Prime Air, in California.
Amazon customers in the West Valley Phoenix Metro Area can now order a variety of products from Amazon’s catalogue, including tech, workplace, beauty, home, and health goods, to be delivered by drone. Eligible products must weigh five pounds or less; according to Amazon, roughly 50,000 will be accessible at launch.
Before checking out, customers can select the drone delivery location for their address. According to Amazon, most people can anticipate receiving their orders, which are delivered straight from the take-off location in Tolleson, in no more than an hour.
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Drone delivery will be possible throughout the day and in “favourable” weather, an Amazon representative told TechCrunch. They went on to say, “At this time, we do not offer drone delivery at night, during strong winds, or during heavy rain.” “Drone deliveries are available to customers within a certain radius of our site in a designated delivery region. When drone delivery becomes available in a customer’s location, we will notify them.
The MK30, Amazon’s newest drone for delivery, was just given permission by the Federal Aviation Administration to fly farther than drone operators can see. According to Amazon, the MK30 is designed to fly in rainy conditions, can fly twice as far as its previous drone, and is around 50% quieter to the human ear.
Additionally, Amazon has begun using the MK30 to deliver prescription medications in College Station, Texas, where the business has been experimenting with drone-based delivery since 2023.
There have been several failures for Amazon’s drone delivery initiatives, including regulatory obstacles, layoffs, and noise concerns. The development of the service has also been hampered by Amazon CEO Andy Jassy’s extensive cost-cutting measures.
Amazon claims that rather than constructing separate facilities, it is now integrating its drone systems into its same-day delivery network to facilitate simpler and likely less costly deployments.
By the end of 2024, Amazon had previously stated that it would expand its drone delivery services to the United Kingdom and Italy. Today, the business provided no update on those intentions.
SOURCE: Tech Crunch
