Amazon’s latest plans for delivery drones

The online retailer released its blueprint for the utilization of delivery drones at a NASA conference last week.    Amazon discussed in further detail its plans to create and deploy delivery drones at a NASA conference in Mountain View, Calif. last week.
   The online retailer laid out a blueprint outlining its plans to implement drones, which include a variety of safety measures and precautions the company said it will incorporate.
   The drones must be trackable, and operate in a narrow, low-altitude band, Amazon Vice President Guy Kimchi, who heads the company’s drone-delivery division said. Drones would remain within 400 feet of the ground and high speed drones would stay between 200 and 400 feet from the ground, while slower drones would fly below them.
   In addition, drones would have sensors to detect birds and other objects, and vehicles would have to be able to communicate while in flight to avoid collisions. Kimchi also said the drones’ locations would be filed in a centralized computer system and a database would be developed for drone users to be made aware of flight hazards.
   NASA is launching its own drone testing next month over unpopulated areas, but is far from testing anything close to Amazon’s vision of flying drones over urban areas, according to a report from the MIT Technology Review.
   The FAA proposed new rules in February for unmanned aircraft systems. A few of the regulations included unmanned aircraft systems must be less than 55 pounds, operate during daylight hours only, maintain a visual line of site, and operate at a maximum altitude of 500 feet with a maximum speed of 100 miles per hour.