Amazon, an American multinational technology company engaged in e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence, has suspended drone deliveries in two cities in the US for software changes after crash reports.
Two of the company’s most recent MK30 models crashed in wet conditions at a testing facility, prompting Amazon to temporarily halt its commercial drone delivery operations in Texas and Arizona.
Because of the incidents, which were caused by a software problem linked to light rain, Amazon decided to voluntarily stop operations and upgrade its software before requesting permission from the Federal Aviation Administration to resume.
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Notwithstanding the events, Amazon still pays workers at the drone locations and sees these testing errors as a necessary component of enhancing the security of its drone delivery service.
Amazon failed to identify other issues being addressed in the software update, despite a representative telling Bloomberg News that crashes were not the “primary reason” for the suspension.
“We’re currently in the process of making software changes to the drone and will be voluntarily pausing our commercial operations,” Amazon spokesperson Sam Stephenson told Bloomberg News.