Amazon Suggests Drone Deliveries Not Far Off

Do you ever feel like you're living in the future? With all the technological advancements designed and manufactured to entertain us or make our lives easier, we don't often take a minute to realize how much the world has changed in a very short period of time.

Even something as trivial as grocery shopping feels like you're in a science-fiction movie. The automated messages on the digital screens that line the rows of food, condiments, and paper goods, give you the impression that "we aren't in Kansas anymore."

Another seemingly ludicrous innovation that was recently revealed by the world's most lucrative online retailer, Amazon, is unmanned aerial vehicles that will deliver goods to customers. Prime Air, as the retailer has labeled it, would theoretically provide superior shipping options by air for packages less than five pounds, which make up over 90% of the goods that Amazon ships.

"I know this looks like science fiction. It's not." Amazon Jeff Bezos said on CBS' 60 Minutes in the magazine's December 1, 2013 episode. "It drops the package. You come and get your package and we can do half-hour deliveries." Bezos goes on to explain that the drone models Amazon is currently using have a range of 10 miles.

Amazon isn't the only major company entertaining the idea of supporting their delivery systems with automated drones. The idea for companies to use drones as a solution to meet their point-of-delivery shipping needs is a reasonable revelation considering how much shipping costs have skyrocketed in recent years. The whole process, unimaginable by your average Joe just a short time ago, is more and more looking like the next practical innovation in shipping.

Bezos suggests that we may be able to see this technology come to fruition within five years; once the political entities that create and administer regulations regarding flight sign off and come up with viable legislation. To that end, it's not unthinkable that the implementation of these shipping forms would follow as soon as the technology is deemed to satisfy public safety requirements.

If there was any doubt that we are living in "the future," just consider the technological advances that have allowed such a situation to present itself. It was only a decade and a half ago when you had to sign a carbon paper-lined pad to receive your package from the delivery person that their massive truck to your house. This is evidence that things are moving faster than anyone anticipated.

What do you think? Are you interested in seeing the sky filled with robots shipping books, toiletries, or food? Do you consider this a marketing ploy and believe it's a superfluous endeavor? Leave us your opinions in the comments!