That's because the drones can't operate in temperatures exceeding 104 degrees Fahrenheit, a threshold that Tolleson, Arizona — the city where Amazon plans to roll out the service — crosses for a full three months of the year.
And that's just the tip of the hotberg. Amazon has struggled to roll out a mainstream drone delivery service, despite over a decade of research and development put into its Prime Air initiative. In the same press release announcing its planned Arizona expansion, the companyto make 500 million by 2030.
Even on the customer side, it's a perplexing venture. Shoppers have to opt in to have an 80-pound drone drop a box from several feet onto a QR code mat in their backyard."We won't take orders when the temperature gets above 104 degrees," Amazon Prime Air director of product and program management Calsee Hendricksonthat it will complete deliveries throughout the summer — but didn't deny that the local climate would hamper those efforts.
Despite both literal and figurative headwinds, Amazon still hasn't given up on the idea of drone deliveries and is planning to roll out the service in