You just knew Amazon wasn’t going to get shut out of a DOT sanctioned drone delivery pilot program a year ago that let in Google, a FedEx/General Electric/Intel team and Uber, and take it lying down. The ecommerce giant unveiled a bold new delivery system that’s part drone, part aircraft and part robot that uses sensors, AI and ML.
In late 2013, Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos boldly proclaimed on the popular CBS newsmagazine “60 Minutes” that drones would be delivering orders for its customers within five years. But apparently, the future isn’t now according to a report in the Seattle Times.
Ten public-private drone test projects have been approved by the Department of Transportation for various applications, including home deliveries, but Amazon was conspicuous by its absence from the group despite its high-profile Prime Air program.
New FAA rules going into effect covering drone pilot licenses could pave the way for drone delivery of ecommerce orders as early as this year, experts say. See what else is happening in the world of drone delivery.
As it continues to hit roadblocks in the U.S., Amazon has announced a partnership with the UK government to experiment with drone delivery of small parcels through its Amazon Prime Air unit. Meantime 7-11 has beaten Amazon to the punch, delivering Slurpees and other essential items to a family in Reno, NV in the first U.S. commercial drone delivery.
Walmart has begun testing drones in its distribution centers for scanning inventory, completing in an hour what it would take two associates a month to do. This seems a more practical and easier to achieve use of the technology than home delivery, and will aid the company in its ecommerce fulfillment battle with Amazon.
The FAA again gave Amazon permission for drone testing, a month after complaints that a previous approval was moot because the vehicle had become obsolete.
Days after going into Baltimore and Miami, Amazon Prime Now one-hour delivery is available in Dallas; Amazon also faulted the FAA on slow drone approval.