Amazon has just begun testing drone delivery in northern California, but it’s not all good news for a commercial drone industry struggling with employee reductions, shutdowns, acquisitions—and now more pushback from leery locals.
In 2013, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos famously predicted 30-minute drone delivery within five years. Yet Bezos was able to fly Star Trek actor William Shatner into space before he was able to deliver an Amazon package to a U.S. customer via drone. Today, widespread home parcel drop-offs, medical delivery, and automated infrastructure inspections remain a thing of the future—at least here in America.
Bezos couldn’t foresee regulators paralyzed by indecision over the right way to protect residents’ property and privacy rights. Now, a possible solution—“drone highways” above roadways—is emerging. State and federal transportation officials have proposed them, but red flags remain for the industry.
