In an interview on 60 Minutes in early December, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos revealed an innovative way of delivery. The new project called Amazon Prime Air is based on Amazon’s newest invention: the Octocopter.

The Octocopter is an unmanned drone that is built to deliver items to customers’ doors in under thirty minutes. The Octocopter’s design contains eight propellers and four legs that combine to make the light drone maneuverable. The Octocopter is not just for fun; the idea is to simplify and speed up the process of delivery. When told about this idea, many people thought that this it is an idea for the future, not for the present. However, Amazon even suggested that the Octocopters may be active as soon as 2015.

Amazon, one of the largest companies in the world, strives to be innovative. The Octocopter is what Amazon believes to be the next big thing among delivering packages. Amazon released a video along with the interview that appeared on 60 Minutes showing the process in which the drones work. The customer starts the process by ordering a product off Amazon.com, which sells nearly everything. Bezos reminded everyone in the interview that the delivered items would have to be relatively small. When the item is chosen, workers take the item and place it into a secure box. The box waits until an Octocopter comes and picks it up autonomously and takes it to its destination.

The announcement immediately brought a lot of buzz, both positive and negative. Kaylin Nix ’17 expressed, “It’s a great idea to have something you order online come to your door in under thirty minutes.” Many students agreed with her, adding that “speed of delivery would influence me to buy online.” Speed is the goal of the new product, but many students took interest in the technology behind it. Jimmy Carney ’15 said, “It would truly be an impressive step towards the future if Amazon could pull this off.”

Amidst the national drone debate and the desire for privacy among Americans, the Octocopter faces a lot of opposition from state and national legislation as well as customers concerned about safety. Amazon is trying to keep the laws in favor of their new product and acknowledges that there may be some problems in the future. Bezos addressed the safety concerns, “The hard part here is putting in all the redundancy, all the reliability, all the systems you need to say, ‘Look, this thing can’t land on somebody’s head while they’re walking around their neighborhood.’”

Another major problem that people are seeing is the technology involved working. Although members of the Wilmington Friends School Robotics Club are very excited about the new technology. Clerk of the club, Matt Schmittle ’14 explained, “logistically it is very difficult to have drones fly autonomously in urban areas.” Despite the logistical challenges, Schmittle does believe that the Octocopter will “show the promises that robotics have in the future, and how they will streamline a lot of processes in the business world.”