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Drone Army | Amazon To Take The Skies With ‘Prime Air’ Drone Delivery Service

...and we sure hope they've found a way to make them silent

Amazon’s drone delivery

Amazon sent bewilderment around the internet recently after claiming that the future of their delivery service would come in the form of ‘Prime Air’ – whether its books or Christmas gifts, they claim their drones will deliver in super quick time.

While many laughed off the idea of an Amazon drone delivery army reigning over our skies, it looks like it could actually be a realistic proposition, and Amazon are completely serious about changing the way we look at delivery and indeed building the drones required.

It all sounds a little bit like something out of I-Robot if you ask us, and will no doubt be a significant step towards the fateful day when robots will indeed take over the world.

It also sounds pretty freakin’ awful. Think for a second how often you order something from Amazon. Pretty regularly right? Now think about how often the population of your city orders something from Amazon? It’s probably every other minute.

That means that not a moment will pass in the future where you won’t look out your window and see one of these forsaken drone delivery machines flying overhead. Let’s hope they’ve found a way to make them silent, or else all life as we know it will become absurdly loud.

“Let’s hope they’ve found a way to make them silent…”

Remember what the sky used to look like? Not anymore. Now it’s just drones. Drones everywhere, carrying James Blunt’s debut album at discount prices and masks of Bear Grylls for people organising an outdoor-themed fancy dress night at last minute notice.

And what about when bored 13 years olds inevitably start trying to pick the drones off one-by-one with an airgun?

Anyway, back to the topic at hand, and the three goals that Amazon have laid down when they unleash their army of drones:

  • They’ll deliver any package under five pounds by drone
  • They’ll deliver anywhere in a radius of 10-miles from the depot
  • And all drone deliveries will be made 30 minutes after you press ‘order’ – which let’s face it, is freakin’ awesome

The drones in question are set to be half helicopter, half plane, with the aerodynamic design letting the drone fly farther than regular quadcopters.

The delivery devices will use the flight efficiency of an airplane and the vertical take-off and landing of a quadcopter or helicopter, and prototypes have proved it’s more than possible already.

According to the vice president for Amazon’s global public policy, the dullest sounding job in the world, the majority of Amazon’s packages are under five pounds, meaning the Prime Air service would be used for the majority of purchases.

Apparently it’d only be available for last-minute emergencies at the moment, which we’re guessing means it’d cost a shitload for the buyer, but once it’s up and running, it would look to become a replacement for the Amazon vans.

Anyway, it sounds like a frustratingly in-your-face way to go about delivering items. We’re quite fine with the sky being for birds, sun and the occasional plane or two. Call us old fashioned.

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