For drone technology to be used as commercial product delivery, drones must be able to avoid surroundings to minimalize crashing and damages.

LiDAR is a technology designed by Velodyne to use a pulsing laser to map surroundings.

The system operates by continuously fire rapid pulses of laser lights in the 1550 nm range at surrounding surfaces and creates a map of the area by calculating the time it takes for the light to return.

Using this method, LiDAR can map it’s surroundings and can enable drones to avoid nearby objects, such as birds and telephone lines.

This magnified photo of carbon fibers depicts its hexagonal arrangement of carbon atoms.

These carbon atoms link on to each other in a chain-like structure, creating fibers that enable it to produce maximum resistance.

Carbon fibers are four times stronger and five times lighter than steel, making it the optimum material for crash resistance and aerodynamic enough for flight

Its light weight allows drones to carry a heavier payload than it would be able to if it was made out of steel.

Amazon Prime Air Drones: CommercialDrone Use as the Future of Product Delivery

Chase BarilarMatthew Malcolm

Issues to be RectifiedRegulations Privacy Concerns Climate Conditions

Current FAA rules prohibit commercial and civilian use of any unmanned aerial vehicle

Employees would be required to obtain a regular pilot’s license or demonstrate an equivalent flying ability, a nearly impossible and costly task

The FAA recently issued a proposal to change the rules in 2015 that may possibly allow commercial use of drones and allow civilians to obtain a license to fly drones in a more cost effective manner than the rules currently in place

Most drones are equipped with cameras to avoid obstacles and allow the operators to view the drone’s surroundings

This means drones will be unwittingly recording everyone they fly over

Currently there is no law dictating how drones collect their data and they often do accidentally end up recording personal information

To rectify this issue, Amazon had to design drones that do not have cameras, which while a difficult task, is not impossible, using LiDAR

The FAA also plans to adjust the laws so the drones cannot fly over anyone not directly under to delivery path

Questions have been raised about how Amazon plans to use drones in severe weather conditions such as snowstorms or thunderstorms

Amazon essentially has two options: make exceptionally weather resistant drones or make a feature that disables the Prime Air option online during poor conditions

Making weather resistant drones will be very costly and possibly take them years longer to design

However Amazon would lose potential customers if they take down Prime Air in bad weather, when customers would want to order products and not drive in bad conditions

SustainabilityEnvironmental Social Economic

Unlike cargo trucks, drones have the advantage of not emitting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere

The sustainability of the lithium ion batteries is questionable, as they can only retain charging capabilities for so long

Once the batteries get below a certain voltage they must be disposed

Amazon can incinerate the batteries, which is very cost effective

However, Amazon could choose to recycle the batteries and preserve resources, but spend a significant amount of money to have it done

Using commercial drones for product delivery is very socially sustainable for Amazon

By giving customers the option to have their products in under thirty minutes without having to leave home will please current customers and attract new customers

Amazon’s only worry will be bad publicity from those who oppose the idea of having drones flying over their property

Designing these drones, building new warehouses and hiring the people required to test the drones and work in these warehouses is a ,multimillion, potentially multibillion, dollar project

To break even, Amazon will have to charge a significant fee for using the system.

One day shipping for products similar in size to those the drones will be delivering currently costs $8.99

This means Amazon could charge upwards of $15.00 on Prime Air shipping, which could deter customers

Lithium-ion batteries are lightweight, long lasting, and powerful, making them a perfect power source for drones.

Lithium provides the greatest energy density of all known elements and is very sustainable in terms of both its charge and abundance.

These batteries have a very quick recharging time of about twenty minutes, allowing drones to spend less time charging and more time delivering products.

Lithium-ion batteries also tend to last for a high number of recharge cycles

Drones similar to the ones Amazon plans on using are already being used by the US military as a form of cargo delivery and in some places in China for commercial delivery. China has no rules against commercial drone use and has lax privacy laws so companies such as SF Express are already using conducting trial runs using drones to deliver small packages in a short period of time, similar to the way in which Amazon plans to use drones.

Amazon’s initiative to deliver products by drone may have a negative impact on small businesses that can’t afford the same expansion. Large cities where Amazon plans to develop its drone business are densely inhabited with a number of sole proprietor stores and small retail shops that would see a sizeable decrease in sales as a result. One study estimated that there are between 25 million and 27 million small business across the United States that account for 60 to 80 percent of all U.S. jobs. If Amazon were to take even a small percentage of revenue away from these small businesses, it would affect thousands of American jobs and incomes, and potentially put many of these small stores out of business.