Staff Writer
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Is
Amazon truly going to begin using drones as a delivery system within the next
five years? Some say this technology is far-fetched and impractical, while
others say that Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos was simply trying to stir up controversy
before the largest online shopping day of the year, Cyber Monday.
On
December 1, Bezos revealed in an interview televised on 60 Minutes that the online megastore is currently developing a
drone-based delivery service, which will be known as Amazon Prime Air. According
to Bezos, customers would receive their products less than 30 minutes after
they click the “buy” button.
The
drones would be able to carry a maximum weight of five pounds, with each item
being flown out from one of Amazon’s 96 warehouses, known as fulfillment
centers. According to the company, 86% of its orders are less than five pounds,
so package weight is unlikely to be an issue. The real problem, however, is
that Amazon’s drones would only have a maximum radius of 10 miles, and none of
the company’s fulfillment centers are located near big cities. Therefore,
residents in cities such as New York, Los Angeles, and Raleigh will not be able
to receive the service, while residents of small towns such as Coffeyville,
Kansas and Flower Mound, Texas will be within range of the drones.
Another problem that Amazon faces is passing
the countless safety tests and obtaining approval from the Federal Aviation
Administration to fly commercial drones in U.S. airspace. Currently, any person
or company wishing to fly an unmanned aircraft for commercial purposes must
apply to do so, and the FAA reviews each application individually.
Many
people have also pointed out the convenient date on which Bezos announced the
drone delivery service. The interview on 60
Minutes was aired on Sunday, December 1, which happens to fall just one day
before Cyber Monday, the largest online shopping day of the year. Many have
said Bezos’ announcement was simply an advertisement, designed to get people
talking about his company the day before Cyber Monday, which would then lead to
more sales.
Needless
to say, people are certainly talking about Amazon’s innovative drone delivery
system, so Bezos’ marketing plan seems to have worked. However, it remains to
be seen if Amazon will truly start landing drones at your doorstep, or if the
whole thing was just an ingenious advertising strategy.
