Are drones the future of freight technology? This is the high-time to discuss the influence of drone technology in logistics services. The e-commerce giant Amazon is planning to introduce prescription drug deliveries via drones, becoming the latest company to explore the use of drone technology for the distribution of medications.
The company’s drone-based service is currently only available within two small sites in California and Texas, where it launched less than a year ago. Amazon intends to add a third American location next year.
On Wednesday, the company announced that it will introduce autonomous aircraft delivery in Britain and Italy ‘in late 2024’, a decade after first publicly setting its sights on the skies. It hopes to be delivering 500m packages via drone each year by the end of the decade.
In a post on YouTube on October 18, Amazon revealed that residents of College Station, Texas can opt for drone-based prescription deliveries, with a promised delivery time of one hour from the moment they place their order.
“We are excited to announce the expansion of Prime Air delivery internationally, for the first time outside the US. We have built a safe, reliable delivery service and have partnered very closely with regulators and communities,” said David Carbon, Amazon’s vice-president for Prime Air.
Amazon also said it was working closely with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to meet regulations, while the government said the move would help it understand “how to best use the new technology safely and securely.”
As per reports, in this new invention, customers will be able to choose from thousands of items which weigh 5lbs or less, from washing up liquid and toothbrushes, to beauty products and batteries to fill a ‘shoe-box size package’.
“What our customers will do is jump on to the Amazon website, they’ll select drone delivery if it’s available in their area, they’ll order their product….and that will then set off the chain of events that goes to our ground system that finds the customer’s yard, drops package off where they asked it, and we’re out of there,” Mr Carbon reportedly said.
