How Amazon’s service rates in the desert could ultimately illustrate the natural obstacles that stand in the way of a solid drone delivery business, at least without technological advances. “We don’t take orders if the temperature goes above 104 degrees,” Calsee Hendrickson, director of product and program management for Amazon Prime Air, said in a broadcast interview with Phoenix’s 12News late last month. “We realize this will limit some of our activities in the afternoon hours during the summer, but you can still pick up your packages in the morning.”
Asked for comment for this story, Amazon spokesman Sam Stephenson told WIRED that the company’s “plans for Tolleson include regular deliveries during the summer months so customers can shop year-round with drone deliveries.” Any claim to the contrary is false. Stephenson did not dispute that Arizona’s summer climate would limit delivery times.
Unique climate
Amazon met virtually with Tolleson officials a year ago to begin reviewing the city as a potential drone site. Tolleson’s economic development director signed a nondisclosure agreement last March that prohibits the city from discussing the discussions, according to a copy obtained by WIRED through a public records request.
At a City Council meeting last month after Amazon unveiled its plans, Tolleson Mayor Juan Rodriguez said the company chose the West Valley city from among 1,000 options, according to city meeting minutes. Amazon representatives at the meeting donated $12,500 to a local nonprofit that funds education and basic relief initiatives and posed for a photo with an oversized check, Rodriguez and other local leaders.
Drone delivery advocates like Rodriguez tout their potential to take vehicles — and the emissions and accidents that come with them — off the road. For consumers, a time span of less than an hour from order to delivery can be an attractive offer when it comes to items that are suddenly needed at home as quickly as possible or to fulfill unusual requests.
So far, no organized resistance to the drone plans has formed in Arizona. But in other communities where Amazon and other drone delivery programs have conducted tests, residents worry about noise pollution from the humming machines and the possibility that they could become surveillance tools – although leading operators say that is not their intention .
As a Tolleson city council member asked at last month’s meeting, the potential loss of driving jobs due to the flying bots may also be concerning. As part of Amazon’s project, the company will initially increase its workforce of 750 full- or part-time employees in Tolleson and hire staff to monitor the four drones that could fly simultaneously, a company representative told the council. But as the technology becomes more sophisticated, the regulations and therefore manual controls become more relaxed.
The MK30 drone, which Amazon is seeking approval for, is smaller and lighter than its predecessors and has more sensors and software to avoid obstacles and get into denser areas on the pre-planned routes it would fly. It can travel up to about 7 miles (12 km) from its home base, reach a top speed of about 65 miles per hour, and fly up to 400 feet into the air. Light rain shouldn’t be a problem.
Other cities with drone deliveries have been more measured. Weather data compiled by Time and Date shows summer daytime high temperatures average below 100 degrees Fahrenheit, or 38 degrees Celsius, in College Station, Texas, where Amazon has ongoing drone operations, and in Lockeford, where Amazon said last month it abandons drones. Alphabet’s Wing locations in Australia and Texas have similar climates.
Amazon has said it is eyeing an expansion into Italy and a return to the UK this year after abruptly halting large parts of its project there in 2021. Even scorching temperatures should not be a seasonal problem in these countries.
Rodriguez, Tolleson’s mayor, couldn’t be more excited about the drones and the increase in sales tax revenue as they increase deliveries from his city. “To be honest, they’re pretty great,” he told his fellow council members about the drones, citing his extensive insights into the technology on YouTube. It appears Amazon could have at least one eager customer – weather permitting.