Looks like the e-commerce giant; Amazon is one step closer to launching its drone delivery service.
In Feb., the Federal Aviation Agency rolled out a set of rules that permitted commercial drones to operate by 2017. However, e-commerce giant, Amazon protested citing the rules required the drones to be handled by an operator in the line of sight of the flying device, which apparently would outlaw its envisioned Prime Air delivery service.
According to EPochTimes, Amazon received good, although not ideal, news from the the Federal Aviation Administration as it granted the retail company to fly its unmanned aircraft on a trial basis. That said, the testing still have to follow FAA guidelines similar to the stipulations proposed in Feb., including the arduous line-of-sight rule.
One of the company's vice president said in a written statement that the company is committed to realizing their vision for Prime Air and are inclined to expand where they have the regulatory support they need.
However, CBS Baltimore noted that Amazon's license is only on a trial basis. According to FAA regulations permits commercial drone less than 55 pounds to be flown up to 100 mph. In addition, they can only hit the skies in daylight hours and the operator has to be at least 17 years old with an "Unmanned Aircraft Operation Certificate."
These rules come in the wake of a recreational drone crash landing on the White House lawn in Jan., alarming the Secret Service agents.
Matt Scassero, UMD UAS test site director noted that just like any new technology, drones too can be misused so they need to ensure that the technology they're enabling to be used, such as unarmed aircraft systems, they also consider how it can be misused.
In addition, the FAA has also approved licenses for almost 50 other purposes, like inspection, aerial photography and movie-making.
Back in 2013, Amazon expressed interest in its drone delivery service and since then, the e-commerce giant has been a main supporter of faster regulatory action in support of drones.
Do you think approval for drone use will facilitate quicker packages delivery to customer's doorstep? Let us know in the comments below!
