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Amazon.com is already cracking same-day delivery. Next up: getting your
package delivered quicker than a pizza? The online retailer is working
on a way to get customers their goods in 30 minutes or less — by drone.
Amazon.com
said it's working on the so-called Prime Air unmanned aircraft project
in its research and development labs. But the company admits it will
take years to advance the needed technology and for the needed federal
Aviation Administration rules and regulations to be created.
The project was first reported Sunday by CBS' "60 Minutes."
Amazon
CEO Jeff Bezos said during the primetime interview that while the
octocopters look like something out of science fiction, there's no
reason they can't be used as delivery vehicles.
Bezos
said the drones can carry packages that weigh up to five pounds, which
covers about 86 percent of the items Amazon delivers. And the current
generation of drones that the company is testing has a range of about 10
miles, which Bezos noted could cover a significant portion of the
population in urban areas.
While
it's tough to say exactly how long it could take the project to get off
the ground, Bezos told "60 Minutes" that he thinks it could happen in
four or five years.
*** [2/25/14]
Netflix Drone2Home
*** [8/28/14] Google testing drones too
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc is developing airborne drones capable of flying on their own and delivering anything from candy to medicine, the Internet company said on Thursday.
The effort, which Google calls Project Wing, marks the company's latest expansion beyond its Web-based origins and could help Google break into lucrative markets such as commerce and package delivery, ratcheting up the competition with Amazon.com Inc.
Google, the world's largest Internet search engine, said it will take years of development to create a service with multiple vehicles flying multiple deliveries per day.
An early version of the drone, which Google showcased in a video on its website, has a 1.5 meter-(yard)wide wingspan and is capable of flying pre-programmed routes.
"These planes have much more in common with the Google self-driving car than the remote-controlled airplanes people fly in parks on weekends," Google said on its website, referring to the company's test fleet of automobiles that use sensors and radars to navigate city streets and freeways on their own.
The drone Google showed in the video Thursday was equipped with rotors to allow for vertical takeoff and landing, as well as a fixed wing for plane-like flying. The drone flew about 40 meters above the treeline, Google said, and dropped a package of chocolate bars to a farmer in Queensland, Australia.
*** [2/25/14]
Netflix Drone2Home
*** [8/28/14] Google testing drones too
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc is developing airborne drones capable of flying on their own and delivering anything from candy to medicine, the Internet company said on Thursday.
The effort, which Google calls Project Wing, marks the company's latest expansion beyond its Web-based origins and could help Google break into lucrative markets such as commerce and package delivery, ratcheting up the competition with Amazon.com Inc.
Google, the world's largest Internet search engine, said it will take years of development to create a service with multiple vehicles flying multiple deliveries per day.
An early version of the drone, which Google showcased in a video on its website, has a 1.5 meter-(yard)wide wingspan and is capable of flying pre-programmed routes.
"These planes have much more in common with the Google self-driving car than the remote-controlled airplanes people fly in parks on weekends," Google said on its website, referring to the company's test fleet of automobiles that use sensors and radars to navigate city streets and freeways on their own.
The drone Google showed in the video Thursday was equipped with rotors to allow for vertical takeoff and landing, as well as a fixed wing for plane-like flying. The drone flew about 40 meters above the treeline, Google said, and dropped a package of chocolate bars to a farmer in Queensland, Australia.
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