Amazon starts drone deliveries in California and Texas

Once onboarded, customers will see Prime Air-eligible items on Amazon. They will place an order as they normally would and receive an estimated arrival time with a status tracker for their order.

Amazon has started delivering orders by drone in California and Texas, media outlet Ars Technica reported on Wednesday.

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Amazon Prime Air operates in Lockeford, California and College Station, Texas, according to the report. Amazon Prime Air is the drone delivery service operated by e-commerce platform Amazon. Residents of both towns can sign up for the service, and Amazon will then confirm if they can deliver safely to the customer’s address.

Once onboarded, customers will see Prime Air-eligible items on Amazon. They will place an order as they normally would and receive an estimated arrival time with a status tracker for their order.

For these deliveries, the drone will fly to the designated delivery location, descend to the customer’s backyard, and hover at a safe height. It will then safely release the package and rise back up to altitude, Amazon said.

The drones use algorithms to identify any static object like chimneys or moving obstacles like other aircraft, while flying to the delivery location. If obstacles are identified, the drones will automatically change course to safely avoid them. They will also ensure that there is a small area around the delivery location that’s clear of any people, animals, or other obstacles.

The retail giant’s drone delivery proposal was cleared by the Federal Aviation Administration in August this year. The maximum payload for Prime Air is five pounds and Amazon says that 85% of its shipments fall under that weight, Ars Technica reported.