Amazon makes first drone delivery in the UK

Amazon has made its first delivery using a drone in the UK.

It was revealed that the delivery took place on December 7th from Amazon's Cambridge fulfilment centre to an address in Cambridgeshire, and was fulfilled within 13 minutes.  

Prior to launch the drone moved along a track to a launch point, took off and flew, completely autonomously, at heights of up to 400ft, guided by GPS to reach its destination. It then landed in the customer's garden, dropped the package, and then took off and returned to the Cambridge fulfilment centre.

The package contained an Amazon FireStick and a bag of popcorn. Amazon states that its delivery drones can carry packages of up to 5lbs in weight.

Amazon said of the service: "We're excited about Prime Air — a delivery system from Amazon designed to safely get packages to customers in 30 minutes or less using unmanned aerial vehicles, also called drones. Prime Air has great potential to enhance the services we already provide to millions of customers by providing rapid parcel delivery that will also increase the overall safety and efficiency of the transportation system."

Click here to view the Amazon video of the delivery.

Amazon Air orders are expected to be fulfilled within 30 minutes, and the trial is understood to be expanding to more customers living in relatively close proximity to the Cambridge warehouse over the next few months.

The trial will be expanded to dozens of customers living close to the warehouse in the coming months.

In terms of safety, Amazon said: "Safety is our top priority. We are currently permitted to operate during daylight hours when there are low winds and good visibility, but not in rain, snow or icy conditions."

Source : Insight DIY