Technology
Amazon Proposes Dividing Air Into Drone Zones
A slide presented by Gur Kimchi, vice president of Amazon Prime Air, at an Unmanned Aerial Systems Traffic Management convention hosted by NASA and the Silicon Valley Chapter of the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International at NASA’s Moffett Field in Mountain View, Calif. On July 28, 2015. Kimchi suggested that the airspace below 500 feet be divided up into layers for different types of traffic. (Courtesy of Amazon)
SAN FRANCISCO (USA Today) — In an effort to make America’s low altitude airspace safe for package delivery — and a host of other uses — Amazon is proposing a “drone zone.”
The idea would be to create rules governing how Class G airspace, below 500 feet, is divvied up, so the burgeoning drone and unmanned aerial vehicle industries can make better use of it.
Gur Kimchi, vice president of Amazon Prime Air, spoke Tuesday at an Unmanned Aerial Systems Traffic Management convention hosted by NASA and the Silicon Valley Chapter of the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International.
The conference, which runs through Thursday, was held at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Mountain View, Calif.
In a keynote, Kimchi’s suggested the airspace up to 500 feet be divided into layers for different types of traffic.
Zero to 200 feet above ground would be for low-speed, localized traffic, including consumer and recreational drones. That’s up to about the height of an 18-story building.
