Amazon unveils new delivery drone at re:MARS
Amazon is a service company, and its Prime membership service, that allows free one-day deliveries, is what has made is so popular in the past years.
We have been hearing about Amazon’s drone delivery experiments over the past few years; which is a significant part of Amazon’s plan to make 50% of its shipments have net zero carbon by 2030.
Jeff Wilke, CEO of Amazon’s worldwide consumer division, revealed that the company has created a new electric delivery drone at its re:MARS conference. This new drone will deliver packages weighing less than 5 pounds, to customers within 30 minutes.undefined
Unveiling this drone, which can fly up to 15 miles on a single charge, Jezz said it should be put in use within a matter of a few months.
Wilke and Porter said that since 2012, Amazon has deployed more than 200,000 robotic drive units in its operations (creating at least 300,000 jobs in that same time).CNBC
Drone delivery is undoubtedly the future. However, for it to be actively used, it would need to satisfy many safety and logistical issues. Having the drone reach the customer within 30 minutes also means that inventory warehouses will need to be set up in close proximities. In densely populated cities, getting real estate for this could get pretty challenging.
Amazon has become so big, that its growth rate has slowed. It has driven smaller competitors out of the race, leaving it with the big ones like Jack Ma’s AliExpress. It needs to keep innovating to keep its edge and grow further; and this step in drone delivery will significantly improve its standing—given that it is able to survive the antitrust probes and overcome safety and logistical challenges. Read more about it here.
