Amazon drone project permitted under strict FAA rules
Enoch Antwi
Amazon drone project is expected to speed up the delivery process of about 86 percent of all items sold by the company.
Daymond John: Millennials lead in smart business technology
Pakistani economy cuts deficits in half in 2015
MOTO 360 2nd Generation review: A premium design
The Amazon drone project has been permitted under strict rules, says the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This, however, is bound to mark the beginning of fierce competition in the commercial drone arena among the big players in the retail business.
The FAA issued an experimental airworthiness certificate to an Amazon Logistics, Inc. Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) design last week. The company will use this for research and development and crew training.
In a press release on the FAA website, the agency said it typically issues experimental certificates to manufacturers and technology developers to operate UAS.
All flight operations must be conducted under the certificate provisions at 400 feet or below during daylight hours in visual meteorological conditions. The UAS must always remain within the visual line-of-sight of the pilot and observer. The pilot actually flying the aircraft must have at least a private pilot’s certificate and current medical certification.
The certificate also requires Amazon to provide a monthly data to the FAA. The company must report the number of flights conducted, pilot duty time per flight, and unusual hardware or software malfunctions. It must also report any deviations from air traffic controllers’ instructions and any unintended loss of communication links. The FAA includes these reporting requirements in all UAS experimental airworthiness certificates.
Amazon drone project and the delivery business
Amazon drone project should speed up the delivery process of about 86 percent of all items sold by Amazon. The Amazon drone is expected to carry deliveries not over 5 pounds of weight and it is branded as Amazon Prime Air. Amazon drone will also cut the time in most deliveries to about half an hour.
Amazon Inc., the online shopping leader, has recently ventured into many delivery businesses. What started as an online bookstore now becomes a grocery and fashion one-stop online shop.
The company also provides web services to some government agencies and individual companies like Netflix on its cloud platform.
The video above shows how this brilliant idea works. Congratulations to Jeff Bezos and his team for thinking creatively, and I hope the Amazon drone project is successful.
Enoch Antwi
Enoch Antwi is the managing editor at The Business Frontal. He worked as a business and an environmental journalist in the late 1990s with the Business and Financial Times. His passion is to provide on-demand valuable information and insights on business, entrepreneurship, leadership, innovative technologies, and principles for corporate success in today's business world.
