The fact that the drone delivery service for Amazon Pharmacy is connected to the Amazon Prime Air project is evident from the fact that eligible users in the College Station region will need to sign up separately for the service and even complete a yard survey. The service will depend on custom-made Prime Air drones with FAA clearance to fly at an altitude of 40 and 120 meters.
These drones come equipped with various sensors and cameras and feature advanced obstacle avoidance capabilities powered by a neural network trained to identify (and avoid) commonly encountered obstacles. Once the drone with the package reaches the set destination, it uses computer vision to ensure that the landing area is safe and devoid of any interference before lowering itself and releasing the package. Amazon has also confirmed that a pharmacist at the loading station will ensure that all the medications loaded onto the drone are the exact ones that the customer ordered.
There is no denying that the concept of getting stuff delivered via autonomous drones is fascinating. While some of the regulatory challenges that prevented it from taking off have been addressed, several other factors prevent it from becoming the delivery method of choice for logistics companies across the U.S.
