You can expect it from Jeff Bezos but even by his standards this is audacious – drones as Amazon delivery boys!
The drone delivery service, called Prime Air, promises to deliver packages upto five pounds (2.3 kgs) in weight directly to the homes of customers living within 10 miles from the delivery center.
Notwithstanding issues like lack of necessary regulations - the Federal Aviation Administration is expected to issue new rules for commercial drones by 2015 – and privacy issues, Amazon is confident of starting commercial operations by 2018.
Even for Bezos the target is too big and too complicated to pull off in five years. Probably, that’s what made him cautious. "We can do half-hour delivery...I don`t want anybody to think this is just around the corner," he said.
For all that Bezos represents: the amazing story of Amazon’s growth, the plan still appears ludicrous to most.
The web has been abuzz with chuckles and mockery about drone delivery. While some termed it as a loopy idea, others called it far-fetched and dubbed it as a cheap PR stunt.
The revelation was also doubted over its timing and intent as it came at the end of a "60 Minutes" feature about Amazon ahead of ‘Cyber Monday’ - the year`s most hyped online shopping day.
What seems to have been missed amid all this ridicule is the fact that drone delivery has opened a window towards what the future could be.
Bezos may be a “penny-pinching” ruthless businessman for some but that does not take away from him the credit for working towards a breakthrough that can, possibly, alter our lives. And he deserves credit for having stuck his neck out.
Bezos has shown to the world how innovative use of technology is now not multi-billion dollar dream. It is achievable.
“All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.” Arthur Schopenhauer
