The Prime Air team has been hit hard by Amazon’s recent massive layoffs, with “robotic workers” delivering fewer than a dozen orders in its first weeks of operation.
After nearly a decade on the program, Amazon finally announced in December 2022 that drones were starting to deliver orders to Lockford, California and College Station, Texas. However, only seven households used the service in the first few weeks after launch, according to The Information: two in California and five in Texas.
Despite Amazon’s claims of successful certification from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the regulator has banned drones from flying over roads or people without special permission, which must be obtained on a case-by-case basis.
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One of the plans agreed by the FAA was for Amazon employees to independently check for cars on the surrounding roads before the drones left the Lockford depot. The cargo point is located in an industrial district, so the drones must fly over at least one road before reaching one of the houses.
Compared to other drones (the ones operated by Wing and Walmart partners Flytrex and Zipline), Amazon’s robotic couriers weigh around 36kg. Journalists suggest that it was the heavy weight of the drones that caused concern to the FAA, since competitors received permits without problems. Wing has made over 300,000 deliveries to date.
Another aspect that does not contribute to the popularity of Amazon is that customers must have a backyard in the house where drones will leave orders (so apartment residents are immediately removed from the target audience). The aircraft can only carry a certain size box weighing up to 2 kg, and drops packages from a height of 3.5 meters – which also limits the list of products available for transportation.
“We accept a thorough assessment of our performance from the FAA; Regulators have an important role to play in ensuring that drone companies meet design, construction and operational standards,” Amazon spokeswoman Maria Boschetti told The Information.
Boschetti added that the layoffs, which cut teams in both Texas and California by nearly half, have not affected delivery plans.
Source: Engadget
