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Report: Amazon Exploring Autonomous Car Deliveries

The online retail giant has reportedly formed a team that's exploring how the company might be able to take advantage of driverless-vehicle technology.

 & Angela Moscaritolo Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

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From Apple to Alphabet and Uber to Tesla, lots of big tech giants — and just about every auto maker — are putting resources into autonomous driving. Now, we can add another to the list: Amazon.

Nextcar Bug artThe Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed people "briefed on the matter," on Monday reported that the online retail giant has formed a team that's exploring how the company might be able to take advantage of driverless-vehicle technology.

"Amazon quietly formed the team, which has comprised about a dozen employees, more than a year ago as part of its broader ambition to transport more of its goods itself," the report notes.

But unlike Alphabet and others, Amazon isn't looking to build its own autonomous vehicles, at least not at this time. The team "serves as an in-house think tank to figure out how to leverage autonomous vehicles," the report notes.

This isn't the first we're hearing about Amazon's autonomous driving ambitions. A patent approved in January revealed that the Seattle-based company is looking toward autonomous driving technologies to deliver goods more efficiently.

The Journal said Amazon's self-driving initiative may help the company "overcome one of its biggest logistical complications and costs: delivering packages quickly." The company could, for instance, use autonomous vehicles in combination with drones and forklifts to transport goods.

UPS in February successfully tested a package delivery drone that launches from atop its iconic brown vans. The idea is to bring more efficiency to rural routes: the drone autonomously delivers a package to a home then returns to the vehicle, all while the driver continues along the route to make a separate delivery.

About Our Expert

Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo

Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

My Experience

I'm PCMag's managing editor for consumer electronics, overseeing an experienced team of analysts covering smart home, home entertainment, wearables, fitness and health tech, and various other product categories. I have been with PCMag for more than 10 years, and in that time have written more than 6,000 articles and reviews for the site. I previously served as an analyst focused on smart home and wearable devices, and before that I was a reporter covering consumer tech news. I'm also a yoga instructor, and have been actively teaching group and private classes for nearly a decade. 

Prior to joining PCMag, I was a reporter for SC Magazine, focusing on hackers and computer security. I earned a BS in journalism from West Virginia University, and started my career writing for newspapers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

The Technology I Use

My little Florida beach bungalow is brimming with smart home tech. I have a smart speaker or display in every room, allowing me to control other connected devices by voice. The Nest Hub on my bedside table lets me set wake-up alarms, control my smart light bulbs, and set the temperature on my smart thermostat. I use the Amazon Echo Show 8 on my kitchen counter to browse recipes, reorder protein powder, check the weather, and watch the news while I do dishes. 

Because I suffer from allergies, air purifiers are essential. My favorite model is the Dyson Purifier Cool TP07, which doubles as a fan and continuously sends indoor pollution data to its companion mobile app. 

My pitbull Bradley sheds, so a good robot vacuum is a must. I currently use a premium Ecovacs Deebot that can both vacuum and mop, empty its own dustbin, and wash its own mop cloth. 

For fitness, I like to mix up my routine with cycling, indoor rowing, running, and strength training in addition to yoga. I take classes on the Tonal 2 smart strength training machine, I row indoors on an Aviron machine, and track my beach runs with an Apple Watch while listening to music on my Apple AirPods Pro. On the weekends, I love riding e-bikes like the rugged, beach-friendly Aventon Aventure for fun and fitness.

My job involves a lot of virtual meetings, so a quality webcam, microphone, and ring light are important. I use the Jabra PanaCast 20 webcam, the Elgato Wave: 3 microphone, and a Yesker tripod ring light. 

As for my preferred phone platform, I'm an iPhone person, but I've also extensively used Android for product testing.

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