Amazon starts drone deliveries in California and Texas
The Hindu
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.
(For insights on emerging themes at the intersection of technology, business and policy, subscribe to our tech newsletter Today’s Cache.)
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.
“We are judges and therefore, cannot act like Mughals of a bygone era ... the writ courts in the guise of doing justice cannot transcend the barriers of law,” the High Court of Karnataka observed while setting aside an order of a single judge, who in 2016 had extended the lease of a public premises allotted to a physically challenged person to 20 years contrary to 12-year period stipulated in the law.
The High Court of Karnataka on Monday declined to interfere, at present, in the investigation against a Bharatiya Janata Party worker, who is among the accused persons facing charges of circulating obscene clips, related to “morphed” images and videos clips related to Prajwal Revanna, former Hassan MP, in public domain through pen drives and other modes.
The 16th edition of Bhoomi Habba was held on June 8, at the Visthar campus. The festival drew a vibrant crowd who came together to celebrate eco-consciousness through a variety of engaging activities, creative workshops, panel discussions, interactive exhibits and performances, all centered around this year’s theme: “Save Water, Save Lives.”