Amazon's first drone delivery is less welcome



Amazon has announced that it will launch its first drone delivery service in Rockford,

an unincorporated area with a population of approximately 3,500 in California, USA. However, it is reported that it is not welcomed by some residents who are concerned about privacy invasion due to drone flight and decline of local industry.

Amazon is bringing drone delivery to this California cowboy town --The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/06/20/amazon-delivery-drones-california-cowboy-horses/

On June 13, 2022, Amazon announced plans to launch the long-developed and tested drone delivery service 'Amazon Prime Air' in Lockeford, California.



About half a year before the announcement, Amazon contacted local authorities and told them about the project to develop the first drone delivery service. However, many of the region's residents, who specialize in orchard grapes and ranch-grown cows and horses, were unaware of Amazon's plans until June's announcement.

That's because Amazon often secretly works on projects, such as using codenames to negotiate subsidies with local authorities when building new data centers or fulfillment centers.

An 82-year-old woman living with dogs, horses and goats, directly opposite the drone facility under construction, told The Washington Post, 'No one said about Amazon's plans. I said. The two female brothers, who are busy converting a recently purchased winery into a marijuana farm, didn't even know about the plan.

A man from a local archery store who learned about the drone delivery service after an interview commented half-jokingly, 'It's a good shooting practice.'



Amazon reportedly chose Rockford mainly because of good conditions such as weather, countryside, highway accessibility, and existing customer base. The response of non-bureaucratic local authorities was also a decisive factor. A former Amazon employee who spoke anonymously for fear of retaliation said that he was 'like a cowboy and doing what he wanted to do' about the impression of negotiations with the authorities.

Amazon is currently looking for a local resident to try out its first drone delivery service. Sign up for this project and you'll be able to choose your favorite item from within 5 pounds of luggage stored in a nearby warehouse. The item will then be dropped in place from a height of about 4 feet by a drone 6.5 feet wide and 4 feet high.

However, some Rockford residents do not welcome Amazon drones. 'Amazon is infringing on our privacy,' Tim Blighton, a cement contractor living near Rockford, told us. Blighton once threatened to shoot the drone down to a neighbor who flew the drone over his home.

'Amazon intends to destroy our private stores,' said Blighton, fearing that Amazon would lead to the decline of local stores.

There are also problems unique to areas where livestock farming is thriving. 'I have a lot of horses and other livestock, but I'm worried that drones will scare the animals, especially horses, any kind of fence when they feel dangerous,' said Naydeene Koster. Even barbed wire will break through and start running. '' Rockford is a town of old-fashioned ranches, so there are many worries that new technologies could invade privacy and scare animals. It ’s very scary for people. ”



The Washington Post has heard from many other residents, including those who objected to 'drones robbing people of their jobs' and said their relatives were Amazon warehouse workers. Therefore, there were voices expressing distrust, saying, 'Amazon is not a company that treats people properly in the first place.' On the other hand, some people were willing to take drone delivery services, such as locals who often use Amazon and those who live in the suburbs and do not have a store that sells daily necessities in the neighborhood.

Amazon spokeswoman Av Zammit said, 'We don't shoot during the round-trip flight to delivery, and we don't use the flight data for any other purpose. I'm one day a Prime Air drone. I think watching is as commonplace as watching an Amazon delivery truck, 'he added,' if someone shoots down a drone, it's against the law. ' ..

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