Zones for drones
Amazon has proposed that a slice of airspace above the world’s major cities should be reserved for high-speed, high-tech drones that can navigate safely with virtually no human interference. Speaking at a NASA UTM Convention in California yesterday (28 July), Gur Kimchi, who heads up the Amazon Prime Air programme, set out how the online retailer believes drones can be deployed safely in urban areas.
Kimchi proposed that low-speed, radio-controlled drones with no internet connection should be confined to flying no more than 200ft above ground. In the space between 200ft and 400ft, Kimchi would like to see a fast lane for drones that are capable of flying at speeds of 60 knots and are equipped with sophisticated communications and sensors (so they can take evasive action and avoid collisions). This is the space in which Amazon would like to see parcel delivery drones operating.
Above the fast drone superhighway, Kimchi proposed that there should a 100ft no-fly zone, creating a vital buffer between the drones and conventional aircraft such as passenger and cargo planes flying at 500ft and above. As previously reported, there have been incidents where commercial planes have had “near misses” with drones – sparking the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority to issue stronger guidance on drone usage last week.
