Amazon presented a request of derogation to the FAA to carry out drone delivery in the United States.
On July 16, Amazon presented a request of derogation to the FAA to carry out drone delivery in the USA. The aim is to operate the drone VTOL MK27 and perform deliveries in less than half an hour for the Amazon Prime clients. This aircraft is able to carry a 2.3 kg payload across more than 20 km.
Furthermore, to carry out these drone deliveries, the RPAS need to operate in Beyond Visual Line Of Sight (BVOLS) flights. To secure these operations, Amazon took several measures. The idea, is to integrate Amazon Prime Air’s RPASs within UTM (Unmanned Traffic Management) systems, enabling a safer cohabitation with the other aircraft. The MK27 will also include sense and avoid systems to connect them to aerial control authorities. Moreover, the flight is fully automatic. Every modification of the flight plan is subject to the current regulation. If the RPAS is asked to operate over a prohibited area the system will automatically reject the modification of the trajectory.
If Amazon obtains the FAA authorization, the first deliveries will be initially operated over low density areas.
In fact drone delivery is really a small portion of the drone market, but thanks to Amazon, it is the “face” of the commercial drone industry. This has gone a long way to clean up a lot of the public stigma about the drone industry. On the topic of drones, people tend to think of Amazon delivery, not predator drones. Kudos to you Amazon for changing that.
Credit of images : bit.ly