Most Americans 'Comfortable' With Drone Use, Says CTA, as Amazon Readies Prime Air

Most Americas are comfortable with drone use by local law enforcement (76 percent), utility and construction companies (71 percent) and educational institutions (70 percent), said a CTA survey report Thursday. A day earlier, Amazon unveiled the latest Prime Air drone design for its “future delivery system” that promises to deliver packages weighing up to 5 pounds to consumers in 30 minutes or less using “unmanned aerial vehicles.” In a 2014 FAA petition to test-fly drones on its Seattle property for a package delivery service, Paul Misener, currently vice president-global innovation policy and communications, said the company believed Amazon Prime Air drones in flight “will be as normal as seeing mail trucks on the road today, resulting in enormous benefits for consumers” (see 1407150032). Wednesday, Amazon said that could begin happening in “within months.” Its latest drone design includes advances in efficiency, stability and safety, blogged Jeff Wilke, Amazon CEO-worldwide consumer. The most recent hybrid-design drone can do vertical takeoffs and landings “like a helicopter,” said Wilke, saying the machine easily transitions between vertical and airplane modes and is “fully shrouded for safety.” The aircraft is controlled with six degrees of freedom vs. the standard four, making it more stable and capable of operating in gusty wind conditions, he said. “We know customers will only feel comfortable receiving drone deliveries if they know the system is incredibly safe,” said the executive, “so we’re building a drone that isn’t just safe, but independently safe,” using artificial intelligence. Through Amazon-developed computer-vision techniques, Prime Air drones can “recognize and avoid wires as they descend into, and ascend out of, a customer’s yard,” he said.