Amazon to test drones in the Netherlands
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos recently announced that alongside Canada and the United Kingdom, the company will be testing drones for its Amazon Prime Air delivery service in the Netherlands
US regulatory impediments have made it difficult for the e-retailer and others to roll out drone experiments. In April, the Internet retail giant sent the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) a letter that urged it to ease up on its drone testing regulations.
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Companies that wish to fly drones must currently seek FAA approval on a case-by-case basis. While the FAA has allowed Amazon to begin testing its drones, it has placed a number of restrictions which currently prohibit the operator to allow the drone to fall out of site.
While the Dutch government may have agreed to allow drone testing, it has adopted an innovative (and not to mention low tech!) approach to anyone that breaks the rules – eagles. Dutch police are currently training white-tailed eagles to bring down unlicensed civilian drones with a view to using them for real-life encounters by the end of the year.
