Amazon began as an online bookstore in the 1990s and quickly grew into a global powerhouse.
It now dominates e-commerce, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence.
The company has expanded into many industries, including logistics and delivery services.
One of its most ambitious projects has been the use of drones to transport packages.
While this technology has shown promise, it has also faced many setbacks.
Identified Software Issue
Amazon has temporarily stopped its drone delivery operations in Texas and Arizona after two of its newest models crashed during test flights in rainy weather.
The company identified a software issue as the cause and announced immediate efforts to fix the problem.
The incidents took place in December at Amazon’s testing site in Oregon. Two MK30 drones, designed to be lighter and quieter than earlier models, failed while flying in light rain.
One of them caught fire after hitting the ground. Amazon determined that the issue was connected to how the software responded to wet conditions.
The MK30 model was approved for operations by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in October, according to Ziare.
It had already been used for deliveries in College Station, Texas, and Tolleson, Arizona.
Although designed to function in rainy conditions, the recent crashes raised concerns about its reliability.
Amazon’s Prime Air program has dealt with delays and obstacles since its launch over a decade ago.
The company set a goal of delivering 500 million packages a year using drones by the end of the decade.
The program remains in limited testing, with operations mostly restricted to small trials.
Other problems have also affected the project. In September, two drones collided in a separate test after operators mistakenly launched a second flight during an emergency simulation.
Previous crashes have been caused by power losses and navigation failures.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the latest incidents. Amazon has stated that operations will resume once software updates are completed and approved.
