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Amazon Proposes Drone 'Superhighways' for Cities

The company has proposed a two-tiered drone highway network that could revolutionize package delivery into cities.

 

In today’s traffic, Seattle’s low-speed drone superhighway is jammed to the south, while the upper-tier expressway is moving at a steady 200 pph (parcels per hour). That certainly could be a report from the not-so-distant future. Ben Popper reports for The Verge that Amazon has proposed a two-tiered drone highway network that could revolutionize package delivery into cities.

In the near future, tens of thousands of drones may be flying into U. S. cities to deliver goods, monitor air quality and provide municipal services, the article says. Amazon envisions a slow lane below 200 feet and a fast lane between 200 and 400 feet for long-haul traffic.

To enhance safety, Amazon recommends that all drones flying above 200 feet be capable of sensing and communicating with aircraft. The company insists that its drones would automatically adjust if they were on track for a collision. Before the plan can take flight, however, new regulations and standards would have to be adopted and the concept would need to withstand rigorous testing.

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This story was originally published by Citiscope. Citiscope is a nonprofit news outlet that covers innovations in cities around the world. More at Citiscope. org.