SAN FRANCISCO
Shares of Amazon were up Friday after the U.S. aviation authority announced the company could test unmanned drones for commercial use, albeit with a long list of restrictions.
Amazon captured the technology world’s imagination in December 2013 when it unveiled its delivery drone program that could, hypothetically, deliver products straight from Amazon’s warehouses to customers’ doorstep.
The scheme was largely dismissed as a publicity stunt, but Amazon has since been developing the project. Other tech behemoths including Google have hired teams to work on similar drone concepts.
The infant commercial drone applications, however, have been strangled by a series of regulations from federal officials.
The Federal Aviation Administration's, or FAA, new certification is a win for Amazon, even if the government is keeping a tight leash on the experiments.
For example, anyone controlling a drone must have at least a private pilot license, and the tests could never approach the scale Amazon desires for airborne delivery.
“Under the provisions of the certificate, all flight operations must be conducted at 400 feet or below during daylight hours in visual meteorological conditions,” the FAA said in a statement. “The UAS (Unmanned Aircraft System) must always remain within visual line-of-sight of the pilot and observer.”
The FAA requires Amazon to conduct its experiments above privately-owned land in rural Washington. The company also has to keep in constant contact with regulators.
“The certificate also requires Amazon to provide monthly data to the FAA,” the agency continued. “The company must report the number of flights conducted, pilot duty time per flight, unusual hardware or software malfunctions, any deviations from air traffic controllers’ instructions, and any unintended loss of communication links.”
In trading after the FAA’s announcement, Amazon’s stock was up more than 5 percent, evidence that Wall Street sees the project as more than just a cry for attention.
