Amazon.com, the largest e-commerce site, is
attempting what some call a publicity stunt by trying to offer an innovative
new "shipping method". This method would be in the form of an
unmanned carrier drone that could deliver a package to your doorstep in thirty
minutes or less. Amazon Air was unveiled to the public almost a year ago, and
in light of all the negative feedback they received, Amazon continues to push
forward with this endeavor. Lately, Amazon Air has been hiring all the top
engineers in the aerospace field from big companies such as Google and
Microsoft; a sign that they believe federal regulations will be proposed soon
enough for this to be feasible.
Despite Amazon’s optimism, the Federal Aviation
Administration has banned the use of unmanned drones which they refer to as “model
aircraft's”. However, in March, a federal judge’s rule stated the FAA enacted illegally
by enforcing these regulations without first undergoing due process: namely publicizing
the regulations and receiving public criticism. Therefore, the FAA is required
to revisit these regulations and rulings before then end of 2015, and potentially
construct further regulations and standards.
Amazon came out publicly and stated: "Putting Prime Air into commercial use will take
some number of years as we advance the technology and wait for the necessary
FAA rules and regulations," which sort of contradicts all the
recent hires for Amazon Air. One thing is for sure: the amount Amazon has
invested in this new venture would be a huge loss to just have deemed illegal.
Often we see technologies that are
just too far ahead of its time, but rarely is such technology restricted by
huge safety implications. Amazon Air is ready to become fully operational, but
such standards to ensure safety have not been constructed yet. Amazon has
entered itself into a complete new category of unmanned carrier drones, so new
that the Federal Aviation Administration has not had enough time to implement
policies around it. Although there are military and hobby uses for drones, few
exists that falls in the category of carrier drones for commercial purposes.
The only allowed commercial applications for “ground-operated drones” include
photographing your property for farming or real estate purposes, or demonstrating
aerobatics with a model aircraft. However, Amazon’s intended application falls
so far out of these realms that some refer to this a “vaporware”: a good idea
that is far away from ever becoming a reality.
Personally I would love to see this
idea come to fruition. E-commerce, technology, and society as a whole is moving
towards instant gratification: the ability to get what you want, immediately when
you want it. Amazon users purchase a wide variety of items from the site from
everyday household items to high end electronics. Why would anyone bother to
walk down to CVS to pick up a tube of toothpaste when you could have the same
tube delivered to your doorstep in around the same amount of time? Amazon is
the ultimate innovator, but like many great technologies before it, society
will be slow to accept and adopt Amazon Air.
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