Right before Cyber Monday rolls out, Amazon has a few tricks up its sleeve to attract customers.
On Sunday, the retailer showcased its new unmanned 30-minute delivery service called Amazon Prime Air, which uses a drone to make drop-offs. On top of that, the company released a second video that also demonstrated the ervice, and it is narrated by none other than Jeremy Clarkson, Top Gear's former host.
According to Amazon, the drone uses "sense and avoid" technology to ensure safety. Weighing at about 55 pounds, it'll be capable of traveling 15 miles and reaching an altitude of about 400 feet. Based on the footage, the drone prototype looks somewhat like a love child of a helicopter and airplane, but the design is not set in stone.
"We are testing many different vehicle designs and delivery mechanisms to discover how best to deliver packages in a variety of environments. We have more than a dozen prototypes that we've developed in our research and development labs. The look and characteristics of the vehicles will evolve over time," Amazon says.
In the first video, "a miracle of modern technology is dispatched," as Clarkson puts it, to deliver products in 30 minutes or less, continuing to say that a "whole family of Amazon drones" will materialize in the near future, with each designed to suit a variety of environments. When the Amazon drone was near the delivery area, the family in the scene received a notification asking whether the yard is clear or not. After confirmation, the drone dropped off the package.
In the other video, a customer is shown placing an order on Amazon, choosing the Amazon Prime Air option. It then continues to show how packages are prepared and delivered to their destinations.
With Cyber Monday looming, Amazon couldn't have pulled this announcement off at a better time, placing its name in full view to buyers everywhere before one of the hugest shopping events of the year. The retailer hasn't given out an official release date yet, saying that it'll only deploy the service once it gets the required regulatory support.
Hit up the videos below to watch Clarkson explain the Amazon Prime Air and an actual flight footage, as well as the delivery service plainly in action.
