The Federal Aviation Administration in the United States has given Amazon the green light to extend its drone deliveries beyond the horizon.
As a result of the ruling, Amazon has indicated it will scale up its operations with the aim of drone delivering more than 500 million packages in the US by 2030.
Previously US regulations prevented drone operators from flying their craft beyond a visual line of sight.
In a statement, Amazon said it had been working with regulators around the world on creating new rules and authorising new technology to allow safe drone deliveries.
It said the breakthrough in the US was based on improvements to the “onboard detect-and-avoid technology”.
“We’ve spent years developing, testing, and refining our onboard detect-and-avoid system to ensure our drones can detect and avoid obstacles in the air,” Amazon said.
“This new authorization and new permissions allow us expand our delivery area in College Station, Texas.
“It means more Amazon customers than ever before will be eligible to choose from thousands of items for drone delivery, including household essentials and beauty and drugstore products.”
Amazon said it would begin expanding drones into its broader delivery network later this year.
In Australia, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority has approved two operators – Wing and Swoop Aero – to do drone deliveries in specific locations.
Wing can deliver to eligible areas of Logan, Ipswich and Brisbane in Queensland and Gungahlin and Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory.
Swoop Aero can deliver within 60km of bases located in the Queensland centres of Toowoomba and Goondiwindi.
The deliveries can only be done within specified hours.
