Amazon has received approval from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to fly its delivery drones longer distances.
The FAA required that all commercial drone operators maintained a line of sight for their drones until it approved a technology that could safely enable drones to fly beyond the visual line of sight.
Amazon in a statement said it spent years developing Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) technology for its drones to ensure they could detect and avoid obstacles in the air.
The company showcased the technology for FAA inspectors.
The announcement came after Alphabet’s Wing received an FAA exemption last December to fly its drones beyond the visual line of sight.
Amazon said the approval allowed it to “serve more customers via drone and effectively expand and scale drone delivery operations.”
It needed the FAA approval to achieve its goal of using drones to deliver 500 million packages per year by the end of this decade, the company said. (Xinhua/NAN)
