BY: KaDarius Durham
Amazon Prime is an innovative way that Amazon has created in order to reduce its shipping expenses which is about $4 billion a year. In order for them to fly these drones they must get approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which oversees and regulates all aspects of American space aviation. The company wants to get engaged in non-commercial operations involving flying their drones on their own property. Amazon plans to locate their air space facility away from any airport, heliport, spaceport or any other location where aviation activities are; and they plan on having these testing facilities away from military bases and largely populated cities. They are also planning on having strict security to their facilities in which no one other than amazon employees and invitees will be allowed to the site.
In their indoor labs, in Seattle, Amazon has created prototype after another to ensure that the newly automated vehicles are advanced enough for their likings. In just five months Amazon is on the ninth generation of their drone. Amazon Prime has progressed over time and now it has the ability to see obstacles and avoid collisions due to the sensors and algorisms added to the drone. The drones are battery powered, rotor based and can carry up to five pounds. Their plan is for the drone to fly 400 feet above ground level which is within class G airspace. Each drone will have an operator which is responsible for the operation of the drone. Each operator must hold a private pilot certificate and pass the private pilot course hosted by the FAA.
Geofencing will be equipped in the software of each drone in order to keep it in the 400 feet range so that the operator does not have to keep it within the testing range by themselves. Geofencing is a program that uses GPS which basically draws a barrier of how far the drone can go. They also plan on adding other features that will allow each drone to stop its operation and return to an Amazon location if its communication link is lost at any time. Similarly each operator will be equipped with a kill switch that allows them to shut down the drone if necessary. However if the FAA does not accept Amazon Prime, Amazon has already started planning on using their operations in the Canada area, which has accepted the use of drones.
To continue the discussion on drone use, I do believe that there is a substantial profit incentive driving companies like Amazon to pursue aviation-technologies-based distribution mediums. The current delivery systems for their goods increase their operations costs as third party distributors have the power to set the price for their services. Yet, with the new technologies becoming available to corporations, their shareholders will eventually insist upon implementing innovation into their processes to reduce costs. In this case, ownership of distribution mediums is more favorable than paying companies like Fedex to deliver their goods to their customs, and thus, may provide incentive to further explore innovative ideas like Amazon Prime Air, aviation-technologies-based delivery services. Great post Mr. Durham. Very informative.
ReplyDeleteAs Mr. Jenkins stated earlier last week, this is a great, informative post. Drone delivery systems will without a doubt revolutionize the online marketplace. The service requires less human capital, labor cost to operate. This system has the possibility of putting Fedex, UPS, and other physical delivery services out of business permanently. I wouldn't be surprised to see at least one of those businesses either fight the new delivery system in court or attempt to enter into the drone market.
ReplyDeleteDrone delivery is definitely something that is an innovative idea and something that companies that spends billions on delivery expenses should look into. Not only would drone delivery cut delivery expenses, but it would also deliver the product to the customer faster. However, one key thing that should be considered is the cost of the drone delivery to the consumer. If drone delivery is only $2-3 more than current delivery charges, delivery companies such as UPS and FedEx will be in serious trouble, especially when drones become stronger and can lift more than 5 lbs. Yet, if drone delivery is substantially more than the current delivery costs for the consumer, Amazon might not cut their delivery expenses as much as originally anticipated.
ReplyDeleteThe drone market and the robotic age is defiantly coming upon our society pretty fast and will defiantly impact the world in a major way. I cant say that I am a fan of the this way of thinking but it will make life easier and more efficient. Pizza Hut has a drone that actually delivers pizza to your doorstep, pretty wild.
ReplyDeleteGood topic man. I think drones are an ingenious solution to the increasing demand by consumers for their products to arrive almost instantly. Eventually the government is going to sign off on the use of drones (they're probably waiting on a favorable deal that maximizes their profits). Regardless, it's going to change the way we all shop, interact, and hopefully cut down on inventory shrink ( product that is stolen from within the company) and overall theft.
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