Amazon's new Prime Air delivery drone

Amazon unveiled the latest version of its Prime Air delivery drone, a hybrid aircraft capable of taking off and landing vertically, as well as continuing its flight ahead.

Presenting the drone on stage at the Amazon: Re: MARS conference in Las Vegas, Amazon's global CEO, Jeff Wilke, highlighted the security features of the device. "We know that customers will be comfortable with drone deliveries only if the system is incredibly safe," said Wilke.

According to Amazon, the safety features of the drone make it as "rugged and stable as commercial aircraft" – a major claim for a technology that is still in its infancy.

The drone uses a combination of thermal cameras, depth cameras and sonar to detect dangers. With the aid of machine learning models, the drone automatically identifies problems and navigates around them. "From paragliders to power lines to corgi in your yard, this drone is covered by security," said Wilke.

(JORDAN STEAD / Amazon)

The drone rotors are fully covered for safety, the hoods also serving as wings during a sustained flight. It also has six degrees of freedom (versus four for a normal quadcopter), which, according to Amazon, allows for a more dynamic and agile flight. The tilt design allows the drone to use the same six propellers to move forward as for take-off and landing. The parcels to be delivered are then transported in the fuselage in the center.

The company also accompanied the announcement of a test flight video of the Prime Air delivery drone, showing its design in transformation in a sequence highlighting both flight modes in action. Amazon claims that its goal for Finished Prime Air service is "fully electric drones capable of traveling up to 15 km and delivering packages under five pounds in less than 30 minutes", although it does not it is not clear if the current prototype is capable of it. at the moment.

Critically, Amazon has yet to propose a deadline for delivery of products by Prime Air drones to customers, or even what a consumer version of the program would look like. Wilke told the public of Re: MARS: "You will see him delivering parcels to his customers in a few months", but it is more than likely that it is test flights rather than a regular commercial service. In an interview with Bloomberg, Amazon declined to give details on the specifications of the drone or where it would be tested.

Amazon however targets the FAA's approval with the design. As Wilke would continue to note to Bloomberg, the drone is built entirely from parts already approved by the FAA or designed to be approved. "We're not saying to the FAA, hey, here's something new that you've never seen before," Wilke said. "We say that it's a plane built to strict aerospace standards."

The company had previously introduced an earlier version of the Prime Air drone at Re: MARS in 2017, although the new model appears to be more advanced and overall more polished than the previous prototype. Amazon had already tested a preliminary version of the UAV delivery service in the UK as well, in 2016.