Amazon has unveiled the latest version of its Prime Air delivery drone, a hybrid aircraft that’s capable of vertical takeoff and landing as well as sustained forward flight. The company says it wants to launch a delivery service using the drone in “the coming months,” but has not said where this might take place or how many customers it might cover.
Introducing the drone onstage at Amazon’s Re:MARS conference in Las Vegas, Amazon’s consumer worldwide CEO Jeff Wilke emphasized the aircraft’s safety features. “We know customers will only feel comfortable receiving drone deliveries if the system is incredibly safe,” said Wilke. There’s still no word on when they might be ready to spread across the United States or the world at large.
Before that can happen, Amazon likely wants to ensure its drones are perfect by iterating on them over time and testing out different versions to see what sticks.
The main goals behind the Prime Air drone’s new look and functionality are boosted efficiency, stability, and safety. Amazon has accomplished the former two tasks by implementing a “hybrid” flight mode into the new design. Now, the drones can take off and land vertically as a helicopter can, but once they fully take to the sky, they can switch to “airplane mode” for faster, more power-efficient travel.
As far as safety advancements go, those improvements come through jumps in Amazon’s AI technology. Wilke told Bloomberg, the entire drone is built either from FAA-approved parts or designed with approval in mind. “We’re not telling the FAA, hey, here is something new that you’ve never seen before,” he said. “We’re saying, this is an airplane that’s built to exacting aerospace standards.”
Google’s rival Project Wing, meanwhile, has slowly been expanding a number of test services in locations including Finland and Australia.
If we’ve learned one thing about drone delivery in recent years, it’s that the implementation of these systems is much harder than simply building the aircraft. What Amazon has done today is unveil a drone and given itself another deadline. Now we need to see if it delivers.
