News

Amazon wins approval from US regulators to test delivery drones outdoors

Amazon must keep drone flights at an altitude of no more than 400 feet and no faster than 100 miles per hour. The Seattle-based online giant has been pursuing its goal of sending packages to customers by air, using self-piloted aircraft, even as it faces public concern about safety and privacy.

April 14, 2015

Reuters is reporting that Amazon.com Inc. has won approval from U.S. federal regulators to test a delivery drone outdoors. This decision comes less than a month after the e-commerce powerhouse blasted regulators for being slow to approve commercial drone testing.

The Federal Aviation Administration had earlier given the green light to an Amazon prototype drone in March. Amazon told U.S. lawmakers less than a week later that the prototype had already become obsolete while it waited more than six months for the agency's permission.

Under the new decision Amazon must keep flights at an altitude of no more than 400 feet and no faster than 100 miles per hour, according to the letter. Seattle-based Amazon.com has been pursuing its goal of sending packages to customers by air, using self-piloted aircraft, even as it faces public concern about safety and privacy.

The company wants to use drones to deliver packages to its customers over distances of 10 miles or more, which would require drones to travel autonomously while equipped with technology to avoid collisions with other aircraft. In February, the FAA proposed long-awaited rules to try to set U.S. guidelines for drones, addressing growing interest from both individual and corporations in using unmanned aerial vehicles.