Proving that its delivery drone idea was more than just a promotional stunt, Amazon has released a video in which it actually demonstrates one of its drones. Jeremy Clarkson, the former face of Top Gear, described the many ways that a drone-based delivery service would benefit consumers, and highlighted the new perks of the drone’s updated design. While the design capabilities and design of the drone are certain to change quite a bit by the time the service actually launches, it’s nice to see Amazon keeping us updated on its progress.
For a service that is yet to officially take off (yup, more puns), Amazon has been focusing pretty heavily on its upcoming drone delivery service, Amazon Prime Air. The company has recently released a new video — hosted by former Top Gear front man Jeremy Clarkson — in which the merits and benefits of the new drone delivery are explained in a fun and lighthearted view of a typical family. The narration touches on several new perks of this updated design. First and foremost, the new design still has VTOL (Vertical take off and landing) capabilities, but once it reaches its destination altitude, it performs more like an airplane with a horizontal flight system. NASA has been toying with similar capabilities with its Greased Lightning drone, as the horizontal flight of an airplane is significantly more efficient than the quad-copter performance of your standard drone. With this new flight system, the Amazon Prime Air drone can reach speeds up to 55 miles per hour, and fly for a range of 15 miles.