Amazon’s vision of the future for drones

Amazon has been outlining its vision of the future for drone technologies, in which commercial drones be allowed to operate in a narrow, low-altitude band with a central tracking system.

According to Gur Kimchi, a vice president in Amazon’s drone-delivery division, the company is creating a blueprint for an air-traffic control system.

Outlining how the company foresees a future ordering system using small delivery drones, Kimchi said the project was “completely doable”, with proper regulation.

To prevent drones colliding with each other or other aircraft in flight, a system of traffic controls, flight plans and communication between devices needs to be established, with the central computer system and relevant data available to all operators.

“We can only be safe and efficient if everybody else is safe and efficient,” Kimchi summarised.

Initially, Kimchi said that drones will be separate from traditional aircraft before being integrated into the wider flight paths due to the complicated nature of creating a working system.

Amazon has proposed to keep drones below 400 feet of the ground so that they are well below traditional aircraft and that at a point when helicopters or planes are required to enter the drone’s airspace, in an emergency for example, the drone would automatically give way.

Additionally, vehicles will be fitted with a communication system so that they avoid mid-air collisions.

Amazon has yet to establish a timeline for its proposals but Kimchi said that a majority of the technology was already “feasible”.