Amazon has finally unveiled an update on its Prime Air delivery drone project. In a recently released video, Amazon revealed its autonomous drone which has been designed to deliver small packages in 30 minutes or less. The drone is able to fly for a range of 24Km at an altitude of about 122 m at about 88 Km/h. It can also identify and steer clear of obstacles via its sense-and-avoid situational awareness technology.
Unlike Amazon’s previous drone which was a quadcopter, this new drone is a hybrid that merges vertical lift and horizontal lift capabilities. It takes off and lands by means of a set of propellers by its sides which lifts the drone vertically and once the drone has risen to an altitude of about 122 m or 400 feet, a propeller mounted at it rear causes the drone to fly horizontally.
According to the video, this drone will be part of its Prime Air Delivery service and as such is the first in a family of Amazon drones all uniquely designed for different environments. The video also shows that users will need to mark out a particular spot on their property on which the drone would land and drop off its package.
So far, Amazon hasn’t announced a date for the launch of its Prime Air service. However, the company said on its Prime Air website, that the service would only be launched when they are “able to demonstrate safe operations.”
