Amazon delivery drones crashed after they had confused rain against the ground

We are now learning more about the December falling, which forced Amazon to pause his drone delivery operations-and the details are an eye opening. After a new one Bloomberg Report, a software update made the MK30 drones from Amazon susceptible to rain, which ultimately led to them being closed in the middle of the air after they had incorrectly thought that they had landed.

As Dronedj Amazon previously reported that Amazon temporarily stopped the flights after two of his MK30 drones were only a few minutes apart on December 16 during the test flights in Oregon. Both fell from more than 200 feet after their propellers stopped – a result of incorrect height readings, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

The crashes were attributed to a software change that increased the sensitivity of the lidar sensors of the drones. In rainy conditions, the sensors mistakenly reported that the drones were on the ground. As a result, the aircraft initiated an automatic landing shutdown in the air.

The NTSB told that New York Post The drones “incorrectly found that due to a false height, they had recorded a new software installation that led to a loss of engine power.”

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Bloomberg Other reports that Amazon removed “Squat Switches” – physical metal plugs that were used in previous drones to confirm a landing – from the MK30 model from the MK30 model. Without this hardware security, the drones were based exclusively on software and sensor data to determine their position. Three people familiar with the accidents have told Bloomberg The absence of the switch was likely to contribute to the incident.

Amazon denied this conclusion.

“Bloomberg's reporting is misleading” post. “Statements that assume that replacing a system would have prevented an accident in the past is irresponsible.”

Katrna adds that Amazon has included “multi -faxy inputs” since then to prevent similar mistakes and emphasized that the MK30 is both more secure and reliable than earlier models. She also notes that the plane fulfills all FAA security standards.

Nevertheless, the crashes were another setback for Amazon's Dreams, which compensate for Jeff Bezos's promise from 2013 of 30-minute air deliveries. Over a decade later, these plans are far from being widespread.

Amazon has faced a number of challenges – including a fiery 2021 crash in Pendleton, Oregon, and complaints about noise from previous drones. The company shared this with post That it has not received any noise problems since the start of the quieter MK30.

After Amazon received the FAA permit for new height sensation systems, Amazon resumed test flights in March.

The MK30, which replaced the MK27, can deliver packages within a radius of 7.5 miles and fly at speeds of up to 67 miles per hour. In contrast to its predecessor, it is based exclusively on a camera-based computer vision and software-redundant a trend that some critics say, reflects the step of the industry for lighter, soft, soft-focused designs at the expense of mechanical failures.

At the moment, drone deliveries are still limited to the college station, Texas and the Phoenix Metro Area, with other locations – including Kansas City, San Antonio, and international markets such as Great Britain and Italy – on Amazon's Roadmap.

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