US firm beats Amazon to drone deliveries by launching from the roof of a truck
Workhorse gets around aviation rules by keeping delivery drones within line-of-sight of delivery drivers
While Amazon is tussling with regulators over drone deliveries, one company has found a way to make the unmanned flying machines deliver packages today, by launching them out of the roof of a truck.
US firm Workhorse has created a system called "HorseFly" that has managed to stick to the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) latest rules.
The drone can travel at 50 miles per hour, carry a 10 pound package and fly for 30 minutes. Workhorse's idea is to address the last mile of delivery – places trucks or vans can't reach such as rural areas.
Earlier this year, the FAA issued new rules on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). One of the key points was that drones needed to remain in the visual line-of-sight of the operator, something that essentially thwarted Amazon's plans for drone delivery.
Workhorse's solution has been to place these drones to launch out of trucks because they remain within sight of the driver. Steve Burns, chief executive of Workhorse said that the drones remain within the line-of-sight of the truck drivers.
"We launch from atop the truck, and efficiencies are not as good as if you could just launch from 30 miles way, but they are staggering," Burns told CNBC in a TV interview.