Amazon is bringing its drone delivery service to a second, much larger US town later this year.
College Station, Texas, has a population of 115,000 and is home to the Texas A&M University. It’ll join Lockeford, California—a town of 3,500 people—as the second of two places where Amazon drone deliveries will be available in the US.
“Customers in both locations will have the option to receive free and fast drone delivery on thousands of everyday items—the largest selection of items to ever be available for drone delivery,” the e-commerce giant said in a statement.
Amazon has yet to say when the “Prime Air” drone deliveries will begin. But in the meantime, the company says hundreds of residents in Lockeford, California, have already expressed interest in receiving their Amazon orders via drone.
“Once onboarded, customers will see Prime Air-eligible items on Amazon. They will place an order as they normally would and receive an estimated arrival time with a status tracker for their order,” the company said.
Amazon will then deliver the order through the self-flying drones, which are capable of evading objects like chimneys and other aircraft. The machines can fly up to 50 miles per hour and are designed to carry a package up to 5 pounds in weight. The Amazon drones will ferry the shipment to the customer’s backyard, where the machine will hover at a safe distance, and then safely release the package on the ground.
"At the moment, customers need access to a clear yard in their property to receive Prime Air deliveries," the company told PCMag. Once the delivery is complete, the drone will then fly back to Amazon’s facilities.
The company didn’t say why it selected College Station, Texas, but noted Texas A&M University has been conducting its own unmanned drone research. “We are thrilled about the opportunity to launch this service in College Station and partner with the city and its world-class university on some of the great work they’ve been doing in the area drone technology,” the company said.