Previous reports stating that the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration had deemed drones illegal are apparently false.
The ruling on the flying robots, which Amazon wanted to use to send Prime subscribers merchandise they'd ordered, affects people who fly drones as a hobby, not commercial entities, according to Benzinga.
"This is about hobbyists and model aircraft, not Amazon," clarified Mary Osako, an Amazon spokeswoman. Osako also said the law "has no effect on...plans," for the company's future.
"Putting Prime Air into commercial use will take some number of years as we advance the technology and wait for the necessary FAA rules and regulations," the online retailer added.
Under current plans, the Amazon drones could transport up to five pounds of weight, according to NBC News.
"The hard part here is putting in all the redundancy, all the reliability, all the systems you need to say look, this thing can't land on somebody's head while they're walking around their neighborhood," said Jeff Bezos, Amazon chief executive. "Then there are the national security implications which include security vetting for certification and training of UAS-related personnel, addressing cyber and communications vulnerabilities, and maintaining/enhancing air defense and air domain awareness capabilities in an increasingly complex and crowded airspace. Could it be, you know, four, five years? I think so. It will work, and it will happen, and it's going to be a lot of fun."
"Putting Prime Air into commercial use will take some number of years as we advance technology and wait for the necessary FAA rules and regulations," Amazon added.
