Amazon’s plans to use autonomous drones for package delivery took a big step forward with FAA approval to begin testing.
Amazon Prime Air has been working toward the use of drones to deliver packages to consumers in 30 minutes or less. According to Reuters, the FAA just approved the company to begin testing of its autonomous drones, joining UPS and Alphabet’s Wing division.
The drone service could represent a big cost savings to Amazon, while giving the company a competitive advantage, in terms of the speed of delivery. At the same time, there are still a number of challenges to address. As more people rely on online shopping, porch piracy has become a major issue. It’s a safe bet there will be an equally big problem with ‘package poaching’ as Amazon’s drones take to the sky.
Either way, the FAA’s approval to begin testing is an important step in widespread adoption of drone deliveries.