Slashdot Mirror
Amazon Tests Delivery Drones At Secret Canada Site After US Frustration
An anonymous reader sends this excerpt from The Guardian:
Amazon is testing its drone delivery service at a secret site in Canada, following repeated warnings by the e-commerce giant that it would go outside the U.S. to bypass what it sees as the U.S. federal government's lethargic approach to the new technology. The largest internet retailer in the world is keeping the location of its new test site closely guarded. What can be revealed is that the company's formidable team of roboticists, software engineers, aeronautics experts and pioneers in remote sensing – including a former NASA astronaut and the designer of the wingtip of the Boeing 787 – are now operating in British Columbia. The end goal is to utilize what Amazon sees as a slice of virgin airspace – above 200ft, where most buildings end, and below 500ft, where general aviation begins. Into that aerial slice the company plans to pour highly autonomous drones of less than 55lbs, flying through corridors 10 miles or longer at 50mph and carrying payloads of up to 5lbs that account for 86% of all the company's packages.
eh?
"Our opponent is an alien starship packed with atomic bombs," I said. "we have a protractor"
I've worked on a number of military projects in my career. Saying it "should be built and controlled to military standards" is a very low bar to clear. I would want it to be held to a much higher standard than that. Even civilian FAA standards are substantially higher than military standards.