UAV - Boklevering nærmer seg - Amazon i India

Amazon May Test UAS Deliveries in India

India, not US, will be the launch-pad for Amazon’s plan to deliver packages using drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles, according to two people aware of the development. The US-based e-tailer will debut its drone delivery service with trials in Mumbai and Bangalore, cities where it has warehouses, the sources said on condition of anonymity.

Last December, Amazon showcased its Prime Air drone to the world with much fanfare. Since then, questions have been raised about the plausibility of such an idea, but the company appears to be keen on making headway.

“It could be as early as Diwali,” said one of the sources. Amazon said in a statement that it does “not comment on what we may or may not do in the future”. Amazon’s Prime Air is an octocopter, a drone fitted with eight rotors. Most recently, Amazon had said it is developing vehicles that weigh less than 25 kg and travel at over 80 kmph. The drone will carry a payload of up to 2.26 kg, which covers 86% of products sold on Amazon.

Top-selling products such as mobiles and books will likely be delivered within 90 minutes-3 hours for select customers. “With regard to consumer acceptance, the good news is that people are not very familiar with the concept (of drones) and won’t start with a bias against it,” said Kartik Hosanagar, associate professor of Internet commerce at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Seattle-based Amazon, founded by billionaire entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, is challenging Flipkart for leadership of India’s online retail market, which is estimated by Crisil to be worth Rs 50,000 crore by 2016. If Amazon uses drones to deliver even one package, it will be a huge publicity coup for the US-based firm, helping it upstage Flipkart just when sales will spike because of the festival season.