Last January, Amazon was forced to suspend its parcel delivery program, which was currently being tested in two US states, Texas and Arizona. The cause: malfunctions in the drones' altitude sensors. The presence of dust in the air could seriously disrupt their capabilities, scrambling information about their position relative to the ground.
Although Jeff Bezos' company maintains that it has never experienced a real security problem, it nevertheless had to temporarily halt its activities to carry out some updates. Following the green light from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), deliveries have resumed in recent days.
A delivery in "31 minutes and 30 seconds"
"Safety is at the heart of Prime Air and that is why we have paused our activities to carry out a software update on the MK30 drones. The updates are now complete and approved by the FAA, allowing us to resume deliveries," explained in a statement reported by CNBC Av Zammit, Amazon spokesperson.
Amazon also says it is experiencing "an unprecedented level of demand". David Carbon, an executive at the company, also boasted of an unparalleled level of effectiveness in a LinkedIn post. ZzzQuil sleep sleeping pills were able to arrive at their destination in " 31 minutes and 30 seconds.".
For about ten years, Amazon has been working on drone delivery. The project has already encountered some snags, including several crashes, particularly last February, December, and September. The company says this is part of the test phase, which aims to push drones "beyond their limits.".
More than 500 million packages per drone per year, compared to a few thousand per delivery person.
Furthermore, local residents have also complained of noise pollution from the drones. After reducing them on its MK30 model, Amazon has indicated that it is relocating its hubs further from homes.
These few challenges, however, do not hinder Amazon's ambitions. The company plans to deliver more than 500 million packages per year by drone by the end of the decade. While the number of drones put into service is not specified, this figure reflects prospects that could change the face of delivery.
Today, an employee handles between 100 and 300 packages per day, or a few thousand per year. Drones would therefore undeniably increase delivery rates by freeing themselves from all human constraints. No more delivery drivers who urinate in plastic bottles due to lack of time or those who abandon their packages in a wood because they were "stressed."
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