When Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao earlier this year announced the 10 partnerships to be part of the Federal Aviation Administration's unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) program, she said the United States was at a “tipping” point with drones.
There were already 1 million active devices, with about 100,000 pilots having registered with the FAA.
“We've got to create a path forward for the safe integration of drones if our country is to remain a global aviation leader and reap the safety and economic benefits drones have to offer,” Chao said in outlining the pilot program that extends to October 2020 and is meant to help develop regulations for drones.
The potential safety and economic benefits of drones are why package delivery and e-commerce firms are among those that have started experimenting with them as part of their overall operations.
Amazon was one of the first to test package delivery via drone. In December 2016, it took just 13 minutes from order completion t..
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