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Online retail giant Amazon.com is working on an exciting new (and incredibly futuristic sounding) delivery plan. Drone delivery, according to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, may soon be an option for some consumers, CBS News reports.
Well, not too soon, but this new delivery-by-drone system called Amazon "Prime Air" could be available in as soon as four to five years. The project has been in the works for months, and was revealed on Sunday's "60 Minutes."
While there are some upsides to Amazon's drone delivery plan, it also raises a few down-to-earth legal issues.
First off, what kind of drones are being considered? Amazon's drones are basically flying miniature helicopters (not at all like the armed military drones being used overseas).
The Amazon drone shipping plan, called Prime Air, will essentially guarantee same day delivery by drone aircraft, also known as "octocopters." You can see how it works in this video clip by Amazon:
In a Prime Air demo video that Bezos played for the "60 Minutes" team, octocopter drones will supposedly be able to pick up packages (up to 5 pounds) in small yellow buckets from Amazon's warehouse and supply centers. These items will then be delivered to customers' doorsteps -- only 30 minutes after they click the "purchase" button from Amazon.
Is there a catch to this too-good-to-be-true plan? We can think of a few legal risks arising from Amazon's drone delivery idea, such as:
As promising as Prime Air sounds, there are still many legal roadblocks to be sorted out first. At this point, only time will tell.
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