Amazon has announced its drone delivery service is now live in the UK and has completed its first delivery.
The retail giant said the first delivery was an Amazon Fire TV Stick and a bag of popcorn that was carried to a customer in Cambridge. Apparently, it took only 13 minutes from clicking the buy button on the website to having the order at the door.
The company is bringing the drone deliveries in slowly - and orders are limited to packages weighing under 5 pounds.
Amazon has opted to launch the service in the UK rather than the US because of the permissions it has been able to receive from regulators. For example, pilots are allowed to operate the drones beyond the line of sight in rural areas.
Each pilot is able to control more than one drone and the quadcopters themselves are able to sense and avoid obstacles - like birds or lamposts.
At the moment, only orders that are within flying distance from Amazon's specialised drone warehouse will be delivered by the flying gadgets. The company says the drones will enable it to deliver packages in under 30 minutes.
"The UK is a leader in enabling drone innovation – we've been investing in Prime Air research and development here for quite some time," said Paul Misener, Amazon’s Vice President of Global Innovation Policy and Communications.
"Using small drones for the delivery of parcels will improve customer experience, create new jobs in a rapidly growing industry, and pioneer new sustainable delivery methods to meet future demand.
"The UK is charting a path forward for drone technology that will benefit consumers, industry and society."
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