The main thing is energy density - the batteries only allow for about 10-15 mins flight with a reasonable payload. Considering Amazon will have to do a roundtrip, this will not give them a very long range.
The second thing is safety - we never fly above people. I don't think the authorities will allow Amazon to fly over populated areas until the tech is 100% safe, which it isn't yet.
I think we're looking around the same time frame as with self driving electric cars becoming commonplace.. Many of the problems with battery life and safety are shared. Maybe 7 years?
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we've been flying with drones with heavy payloads for a while now - http://londonhelicam.co.uk
The main thing is energy density - the batteries only allow for about 10-15 mins flight with a reasonable payload. Considering Amazon will have to do a roundtrip, this will not give them a very long range.
The second thing is safety - we never fly above people. I don't think the authorities will allow Amazon to fly over populated areas until the tech is 100% safe, which it isn't yet.
I think we're looking around the same time frame as with self driving electric cars becoming commonplace.. Many of the problems with battery life and safety are shared. Maybe 7 years?