Articles about drone delivery

Amazon finally set to deliver on its 13-year-old drone promise, reaching nearly 500 U.S. cities and towns

Amazon’s Prime Air drone delivery service is expanding to nearly 500 U.S. cities and towns by the end of this year. Jeff Bezos unveiled the program on 60 Minutes in December 2013, estimating then that it was at least four or five years away. Read More

Amazon plans drone deliveries in Arizona while shutting down drones in California

Amazon says it’s gearing up to add a community in Arizona to its list of Prime Air drone delivery zones.… Read More

Pie in the sky: Seattle pizza chain eyes drone delivery to bake sustainability into its future

In the near future, when a pizza gets tossed in the air at Pagliacci, it may not come down until… Read More

Taking the spotlight from Amazon, Walmart and DroneUp set up drone delivery hubs in Arkansas

Walmart is partnering with Virginia-based DroneUp on a network of drone delivery hubs, starting with a neighborhood market in Farmington,… Read More

FAA issues safety rules that could smooth the way for Amazon drone deliveries

After months of feedback and fine-tuning, the Federal Aviation Administration today issued its final versions of safety rules for drones… Read More

CVS and UPS team up for drone deliveries to retirees amid coronavirus outbreak

UPS’ drone subsidiary and the CVS pharmacy chain say they’ll start delivering prescription medicines to the nation’s largest retirement community… Read More

Self-driving delivery vehicles plus self-flying drones? Now there’s an Amazon patent for that

For a long time, Amazon has been looking into applications for self-driving vehicles — and testing fleets of self-flying drones… Read More

Your move, Amazon: UPS Flight Forward wins FAA approval as drone delivery airline

UPS says its drone delivery subsidiary, UPS Flight Forward, has received certification from the Federal Aviation Administration to operate as… Read More

Amazon patents a ‘gust resistant location marker’ to defy wind and downdraft in drone deliveries

If the winds of change are blowing when it comes to how packages will be delivered to our homes, Amazon… Read More

Spawned by Google, Wing wins FAA’s air carrier certification for drone deliveries

Alphabet’s Wing venture has stolen a march on Amazon’s plans for drone domination by winning air carrier certification from the… Read More

How do you direct a drone to drop off your purchases? Amazon has a patent for that

A newly published patent hints at the system that Amazon just might use to guide delivery drones to their destinations,… Read More

Amazon aims to patent fulfillment centers that can ride the rails and dispatch drones

If Amazon follows through on a pair of patent applications, future fulfillment centers could be transported on their rounds by… Read More

A drone that’s an on-demand data server? The perfect patent for Amazon’s ambitions

Amazon is well-known for developing delivery drones, and for delivering data through Amazon Web Services — so it had to be… Read More

Amazon Prime Air drone gets delivered to Smithsonian for museum display in 2021

Amazon’s drone delivery service is still in its experimental phase, but it’s already destined to become a part of American… Read More

Leaving Google’s nest: Loon and Wing graduate from Alphabet’s X idea factory

Two of Google’s best-known flights of fancy, Project Loon and Project Wing, are being hatched from their X incubator to… Read More

Boeing HorizonX leads $16M investment in Matternet drone delivery venture

Boeing HorizonX Ventures has taken the lead role in a $16 million Series A funding round for Matternet, a California… Read More

Amazon patent covers how to signal a delivery drone (and how it signals back)

For an earlier generation, one of the sweetest sounds of summer was the music coming from an ice-cream truck. For… Read More

10 teams win federal approval to push the limits with drones, but Amazon’s left out

The U.S. Department of Transportation has selected 10 state, local and tribal governments to oversee pilot projects that will go… Read More

Zipline adds zip to medical delivery service with next-gen drone that goes 80 mph

A California-based aerial delivery venture called Zipline has unveiled what it calls “the fastest commercial delivery drone on Earth,” capable… Read More

Protect your Amazon drone-delivered package? There’s an APP airbag for that

Seven years after Jeff Bezos had the idea of putting an airbag on your smartphone, Amazon’s inventors have kicked it… Read More

2,500 applicants sign up to get in on drone experiments, but Amazon’s not on the list

The city of Seattle, King County, Boeing, KING 5 and Tukwila’s police department are among more than 2,500 organizations and… Read More

Why Amazon patented a delivery drone that’s designed to self-destruct

Most inventors look for ways to make their machines more robust, but Amazon has won a patent for delivery drones… Read More

FAA lays out process for advanced drone operations, giving a lift to Amazon’s plans

The Federal Aviation Administration today followed up on a White House mandate to speed progress toward drone deliveries by laying… Read More

Zipline expands medical drone delivery to Tanzania with aid from Gates Foundation

While Amazon continues testing drone delivery systems for popcorn and other consumer goods, a startup called Zipline is expanding its… Read More

Battle of the retail blimps: Amazon and Walmart propose airship drone stations

We already know about Amazon’s concept for airship warehouses to support drone deliveries, but here’s a new twist: Now the… Read More

Amazon’s delivery drone hive looks like it came from a sci-fi movie nightmare

If filmmakers ever decide to do a remake of Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds,” with drones instead of birds, they could… Read More

Amazon patents delivery drone designs with adjustable arms and a winch

Two of Amazon’s newly published patents cover some unorthodox features for delivery drones, including rotor arms that extend and bend… Read More

Amazon proposes a ‘virtual safety shroud’ to protect pets and people from drones

What happens if a child or a dog wanders into range while a drone is dipping down to make a delivery?… Read More

Drones vs. trucks: UW study compares carbon footprints for delivery methods

Delivering items with drones instead of trucks is likely to reduce carbon dioxide emissions for short-range trips, or on routes with… Read More

Amazon patents shipping label with built-in parachute for dropping packages from drones

It’s a bird, it’s a plane … oh wait, it’s my package of diapers. Amazon customers could someday be repeating… Read More