Amazon and the British government have teamed up to test drone deliveries.
The e-commerce giant got the green light to explore innovations in an effort to identify rules and regulations needed to move the drone industry forward.
Supported by the UK’s aviation safety regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), Amazon will test beyond-line-of-sight operations and sensor performance, as well as flights where one person operates multiple highly automated drones.
Amazon has been working on its “PrimeAir” drone delivery system since at least 2013, promising half-hour, same-day delivery. But the US has been slow to approve drone regulations. It only just released final rules, more than a year after Paul Misener, Amazon’s vice president of global innovation policy and communications, complained to Congress that the FAA dragged its feet on giving Amazon permission to test out unmanned aircraft for delivery purposes.
“Obtaining permission took far too long, and certainly much longer—over half a year—than it took in other countries,” he said at the time. As a result, Amazon looked to countries like the UK for less restrictive testing areas.
“Using small drones for the delivery of parcels will improve customer experience, create new jobs in a rapidly growing industry, and pioneer new sustainable delivery methods to meet future demand,” Misener said in a Tuesday statement. “The UK is charting a path forward for drone technology that will benefit consumers, industry and society.”
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