Features Innovations UAVs
Amazon goes on offensive in UAV quest

You are not likely to get a Prime Air drop on your porch any time this
year, or even next, but the online retailer, which announced plans for
drone delivery last December on 60 Minutes, is making moves to spur
development.

Amazon recently banded together with several makers of small unmanned
aerial vehicles (UAVs) to create a coalition to speed federal action.
And the e-tailer is also buttressing its lobbying efforts on Capitol
Hill.

"Amazon Prime Air is participating in several
groups… that share Congress's goal of getting small UAVs flying
commercially in the United States safely and soon," said Paul Misener,
the company's vice-president of global public policy.

Such efforts are needed, because
the advance of commercial drones covers a swath of federal agencies
including the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, which governs
airspace, and the Federal Communications Commission, with oversight of
communications frequencies drones would use. The White House Office of
Science and Technology Policy also has rules in the works regarding
privacy.

"This is uncharted territory," said Chris
Anderson, co-founder of drone-maker 3D Robotics. His firm joined Amazon,
DJI Innovations and Parrot in founding the coalition. The group aims to
represent commercial uses of drones, establish a code of conduct and
educate the public about benefits of the technology, he said.