Amazon will make deliveries by drone ‘within months’

Amazon has unveiled a new autonomous drone which it says will be delivering parcels to customers within months, as it doubles down on efforts to roll out the technology commercially. 

At Amazon’s re:MARS conference in Las Vegas, the company said the drone would be able to travel “up to 15 miles and deliver packages under five pounds to customers in less than 30 minutes”.

The new hybrid drone will have two modes — airplane and vertical mode — and will be able to better detect wires and humans than earlier models.

The company said it was using visual, thermal and ultrasonic sensors as part of its “sense and avoid system”. 

Jeff Wilke, chief executive of Amazon Worldwide Consumer, said “a safe…