Online retailer Amazon is testing drones to deliver packages, chief executive Jeff Bezos said but admitted it could be several years before they would be put to use.
The so-called octocopter would be able to deliver packages to consumers within 30 minutes, Bezos told broadcaster CBS’ programme 60 Minutes Sunday.
The unmanned aerial devices would only be used for small, urgent orders to be delivered within short distances, he said.
The eight-propeller drones could transport packages weighing up to 2.5 kilograms and about 16 kilometres away from a distribution centre, Bezos said.
But more testing was needed, he said, as well as the approval of the US Federal Aviation Administration. And while Bezos expected to offer the service only in four to five years, he already has a name for it: Prime Air.