Amazon has announced they are developing delivery drones that will send out orders in the next four to five years, the company’s CEO Jeff Bezos said in a “60 Minutes” interview.
“The idea would be to deliver packages as quickly as possible using the small, unmanned aircraft, through a service the company is calling Prime Air,” Bezos said, USA Today reported.
Mary Cummings, a drone expert and associate professor of aeronautics and astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, told CNBC the idea behind delivery drones is plausible.
“I'm 100 percent behind it; I love that they have pie-in-the-sky ideas. But there are a lot of little details ... and some of it may catch them by surprise later,” Cummings said.
Cummings acknowledged the company would have to overcome technical and legal hurdles before make the drones a reality. She also claimed the likelihood of the delivery drone being available in the U.S. first is doubtful, but other countries have a better shot of getting the robot service.
Amazon must also pass the Federal Aviation Administration regulations for commercial operation of drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles.
"The FAA is way behind the curve," Cummings told CNBC. "Drone experts are not optimistic for a 2015 deadline…And they don't even have the test sites named, much less the framework laid out."
It may be a while before the drone becomes a reality, but Bezos and Amazon are optimistic about their project. The company showed a demo on “60 Minutes” about the delivery drones, or octocopters, that would pick packages at the fulfillment centers. The crafts would then deliver the items “after they hit the buy button online at Amazon.com,” according to USA Today.
"One day, Prime Air vehicles will be as normal as seeing mail trucks on the road today," the company said during the television special.
Check out how the Amazon delivery drones work in the video below.
