Wow: science is advancing at increasingly fast rates! Check out what Amazon is testing and thinking about...
Photo credit: AP
Photo credit: AP
Amazon's plan to eventually enlist self-guided drones to deliver packages to customers in 30 minutes or less, revealed Sunday night on CBS' "60 Minutes," opens a host of possibilities -- and hazards.
Amazon.com Inc. says it's working on the so-called Prime Air unmanned aircraft project in its research and development labs. The company admits it will take years to advance the technology and for the Federal Aviation Administration to create the necessary rules and regulations.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said in the prime-time interview that while his octocopters look like something out of science fiction, there's no reason they can't be used as delivery vehicles.
Bezos said the drones can carry packages that weigh up to five pounds, which covers about 86 percent of the items Amazon delivers. The drones the company is testing have a range of about 10 miles, which Bezos noted could cover a significant portion of the population in urban areas.
Bezos told "60 Minutes" the project could become a working service in four or five years.
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