Amazon has started drone flights out of its Darlington fulfilment centre ahead of the launch its Prime Air service later this year.

The e-commerce giant said the service will use its newest MK30 drone, which can operate autonomously using “detect-and-avoid" technology to ensure the safety of people, pets and property.

Prime Air is Amazon’s planned drone delivery system, which aims to get parcels weighing up to five pounds to shoppers in less than two hours.

When the service launches, Amazon sad eligible Prime customers based in the area will be able to opt-in to drone delivery and choose from thousands of products, everyday essentials, beauty items and technology supplies.

During the development of the drones, Amazon said that it experimented with different propellers to ensure that noise is kept to a minimum.

Amazon claims the drones are as quiet as an average van delivery.

The drones use similar cameras to those used on Amazon’s electric vehicles.

Amazon said that when the drone descends, these cameras allow the drone to steer clear of obstacles such as clotheslines or trampolines which may not appear on satellite maps.

The onboard cameras continuously monitor the surrounding airspace during flight, determining whether evasive action is needed to avoid other aircraft entering the drone's flight path.

Amazon said this perception technology relies on sophisticated machine learning models trained to recognise various objects, including people, animals, physical barriers, and other airborne vehicles.

Amazon's development team built an independent monitoring computer that oversees the main flight control system which can identify issues during flight to switch control to a secondary controller whilst initiating an automated return-to-base procedure.

David Carbon, VP of Prime Air said that Amazon has worked closely with Darlington Council and the Civil Aviation Authority to make sure its drones are safe.

“Our MK30 drones are designed to operate quietly and efficiently,” he added. “We look forward to demonstrating how this innovative technology can serve the people of Darlington while maintaining the highest safety standards.”

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