亞馬遜的無人機送貨計劃終于啟動了，這家科技巨頭在圣誕節(jié)前夕成功地將包裹交付給加利福尼亞州洛克福德和德克薩斯州大學站的客戶。

Amazon’ s drone delivery program has finally taken off with the tech giant successfully delivering packages to customers in Lockeford, California, and College Station, Texas, on Christmas Eve.

亞馬遜在夏天將這兩個站點列入第一批無人機配送地點的入圍名單，并解釋道，位于洛克福德和大學站的客戶能夠在亞馬遜上看到可進行Prime Air運輸的產品（重量不大于5磅），他們照常下單，便有一個狀態(tài)追蹤平臺對他們的訂單送達時間進行預估。

Amazon had shortlisted these two sites as its first drone delivery locations back in the summer, explaining that customers in Lockeford and College Station will be able to see Prime Air-eligible items (weighing 5 pounds or less) on Amazon, place an order as they normally would, and receive an estimated arrival time with a status tracker for their order. 

此次超速運輸服務的標準送達時間當前是低于一小時，但是最周零售商想要通過無人機在半小時內運輸各種各樣的物品。

The standard arrival time for this ultra-fast delivery service is under an hour at present, but eventually the retailer wants to be able to deliver a vast selection of items via drones within 30 minutes.

在美國無人機運輸服務宣布之后的幾個月，亞馬遜一直等待監(jiān)管機構的決策，有關其提議的運營引起的可能性環(huán)境影響。加利福尼亞州站點的運行從11月份開始，但是德克薩斯州會在12月份早期開始運行。

In the months following the announcement of its US drone delivery service, Amazon had been awaiting a decision from the regulators on the possible environmental impact of its proposed operations. The go-ahead for the California site came in November, but the Texas location was cleared for operations only in early December.

同時，亞馬遜透露了有關下一代配送無人機：MK30的計劃。該無人機于2024年投入服務，會比MK27-2更輕更小-無人機周末在洛克福德和大學站送貨。

In the meantime, Amazon revealed plans for its next-generation delivery drone: the MK30. Due to come into service in 2024, this drone is said to be lighter and smaller than the MK27-2– the drone made deliveries in Lockeford and College Station over the weekend (below left). 

亞馬遜Prime Air副總裁David Carbon在社交媒體上表示，盡管該公司還未分享更多有關首批無人機配送訂單或在洛克福德和大學站進行無人機遠距飛行的細節(jié)：

While the company has yet to share more details about its first drone delivery orders or the distance traveled by its aircraft in Lockeford and College Station, David Carbon, vice president of Prime Air at Amazon, took to social media to say: 

這將是我們在未來數年為客戶帶來巨大飛躍，謹慎開啟的初始步驟。客戶是我們的至上，安全是我們的首要任務，配送的未來是我們的使命，技術正在開啟未來，我們的員工是一切的基礎。

These are careful first steps that we will turn into giant leaps for our customers over the next number of years. Customers are our obsession, safety is our imperative, the future of delivery is our mandate, technology is unlocking that future and our people are the foundation it all sits on. 

亞馬遜的目標是到本十年末每年通過無人機向其客戶交付5億個包裹。雖然Prime Air可能已經開始為小城鎮(zhèn)服務，但該公司的目標是在2030年之前看到其送貨無人機也能滿足波士頓、亞特蘭大和西雅圖等人口稠密地區(qū)的需求。

Amazon has taken on the target of delivering 500 million packages by drones to its customers annually by the end of this decade. And while Prime Air may have started out for small towns, the company aims to see its delivery drones catering to highly populated areas such as Boston, Atlanta, and Seattle as well before 2030. 

亞馬遜表示，“我們知道，只有當我們的客戶覺得該系統(tǒng)安全可靠時，他們才會對接收無人機運輸的包裹感到自在。我們的無人機可能會遇到新的意外情況，但仍然可以自主安全地做出安全的決定。我們創(chuàng)建了一個復雜且行業(yè)領先的感知和規(guī)避系統(tǒng)，該系統(tǒng)將使我們的無人機能夠在更遠的距離內運行，同時安全可靠地避開其他飛機、人、寵物和障礙物。”

“We know our customers will only feel comfortable receiving drone deliveries if they know the system is safe and reliable. Our drones can encounter new, unexpected situations and still make safe decisions—autonomously and safely. We’ve created a sophisticated and industry-leading sense-and-avoid system that will allow our drones to operate at greater distances while safely and reliably avoiding other aircraft, people, pets, and obstacles,”Amazon says.