Amazon Mini Drone (stock image)
Photo: Amazon / dpa
The plan has been around for years – but now Amazon is getting concrete.
The US online retailer wants to start delivering packages by drone in a city in the US state of California.
"Later this year," Lockeford residents "could sign up for free drone delivery," the company said on Monday.
The company is still awaiting final regulatory approval for the field test.
Lockeford has around 3,500 residents and is located about 160 kilometers east of San Francisco.
Amazon wants to offer customers in California drone delivery for "thousands of everyday products".
The specially developed Amazon drones are said to be able to deliver packages the size of a "large shoebox" and weighing up to 2.5 kilograms.
Their range is 24 kilometers, it said.
Thanks to sensitive sensors, the drones should be able to automatically avoid both fixed and moving obstacles.
The service is offered under the Prime Air label, based on the Amazon Prime delivery model.
Other companies are also experimenting with the technology
With its announcement, Amazon follows suit with the retailer Walmart, which intends to offer drone deliveries at 34 locations in six US states by the end of the year.
However, the service is subject to a fee, but parcels can weigh up to 4.5 kilograms.
Walmart is working with the startup DroneUp.
FedEx has also started testing the air delivery concept.
Amazon has been working on drone technology for several years, prototypes were already presented in 2013.
However, it was and is still a long way to go until it is ready for series production – and to obtain all the necessary approvals.
The fully automatic and fully electric drone is initially intended to deliver small household goods such as toothpaste or razors as a test.
jok/AFP
