UK government permits Amazon drone trials
The UK government has given Amazon permission to trial new, more extensive methods for testing drones.
A cross-government team, alongside the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has given the online retailer permission to explore ‘beyond line of sight operations in rural and suburban areas, testing sensor performance to make sure the drones can identify and avoid obstacles, and flights where one person operates multiple highly-automated drones.’
Amazon said its partnership with the UK government would ‘explore the steps needed to make the delivery of parcels by small drones a reality’.
“The UK is a leader in enabling drone innovation – we’ve been investing in Prime Air research and development here for quite some time,” said Paul Misener, Amazon’s vice president of global innovation policy and communications.
“This announcement strengthens our partnership with the UK and brings Amazon closer to our goal of using drones to safely deliver parcels in 30 minutes to customers in the UK and elsewhere around the world.
“Using small drones for the delivery of parcels will improve customer experience, create new jobs in a rapidly growing industry, and pioneer new sustainable delivery methods to meet future demand
“The UK is charting a path forward for drone technology that will benefit consumers, industry and society.”
The CAA will be involved in the testing, and examine the potential for safe use of the devices beyond the line of sight.
Tim Johnson, CAA policy director, said: “We want to enable the innovation that arises from the development of drone technology by safely integrating drones into the overall aviation system. These tests by Amazon will help inform our policy and future approach.”
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