Drones have been used in a variety of industries. From cinema, to aerial photography, to wedding videography. However, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos surprised many in an interview with CBS back in 2013 by announcing a new drone product delivery system which Amazon was developing.
The “Octocopter” drones could allegedly deliver products to customers in 30 minutes, putting a whole new twist on prime shipping! Bezos predicted that the service, called Prime Air, would be available in approximately five years. Things escalated even faster and the first Prime Air delivery successfully took place in 2016 in Cambridge. Video footage was available worldwide, and customers seemed to be over the moon at seeing the package being delivered in around 13 minutes after the order was placed.
This could in theory revolutionize the industry. Air delivery with drone flying at low altitudes would mean that packages would be delivered at the speed of light (slight exaggeration, but still…), and in a safer way. With the drones being electric, they would not harm the environment like other means of transportation.
But things seem to have quieted down since then.
Amazon’s drones were supposed to be utilized in 2019. However, nothing has come up yet. The recent events with COVID-19 have no doubt hindered the project as Amazon is trying to handle the chaos as best as it can. But we think it needs to assign an emergency task force to speed up the process with its drones.
Here’s why:
There is currently a new type of global famine. It does not have anything to do with food, but has to do with masks, disposable gloves, PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), medical supplies, and most important of all: COVID-19 tests.
Hospitals and medical emergency clinics are widely reporting a shortage of test kits. The number of infected people has escalated over a million globally and unfortunately, we are seeing a great deal of deaths. Jeff Bezos is already collaborating with WHO on distributing test kits globally. Here’s how Amazon’s drone could potentially come in handy:
- Drones are much faster than regular transportation; they can circumvent traffic and reach destinations faster, thus resulting in a faster distribution of supplies and test kits.
- The drones are unmanned. This dramatically reduces risk of contamination.
- More drones would mean less workers physically driving the supplies to destinations. At the current rate of spreading, everyone is at risk. Especially drivers and delivery men. Using drones would reduce the number of people coming in contact with the virus.
- Flying drones can reach remote areas like villages and smaller towns much faster than regular transportation. This means people in remote areas will have easier access to medication and test kits.
This is all in theory. The logistics still have to be carefully examined and we are sure Amazon is already doing this. Here’s hoping that Prime Air is not too far on the backburner and will be launched soon, likely helping millions of people in the process.