Amazon: U.K. Drone Testing; New Warehouses

Limited by the FAA in the U.S., Amazon has found approval for drone delivery testing in the U.K. The company said it has entered "a partnership" with the U.K. government to test "beyond line-of-sight operations in rural and suburban areas, testing sensor performance to make sure the drones can identify and avoid obstacles, and flights where one person operates multiple highly-automated drones."

Paul Misener, Amazon's v-p of global innovation policy and communications, said the testing "brings Amazon closer to our goal of using drones to safely deliver parcels in 30 minutes to customers in the U.K. and elsewhere around the world."

The New York Times noted that "United States regulators have been reluctant to permit drone delivery because of safety concerns. Amazon wants to be able to fly its drones at night and miles beyond the sight of operators. The company said it has developed 'sense and avoid' technology to prevent collisions, which it has not been able to broadly test in the United States."

The move, it continued, "puts pressure on the FAA, which had recently rebuffed requests by Amazon, Google and other drone makers to advance their delivery plans. The tech behemoths and other drone makers have aggressively lobbied the FAA to authorize the devices to significantly reduce costs to transport goods by airplane, freight and trucks."

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Houston will be the site of Amazon's seventh fulfillment center in Texas. The online retailer currently operates facilities in Coppell, Haslet, Dallas, Fort Worth and Schertz, with another one under construction in San Marcos.

"We are pleased but not surprised that a great company like Amazon continues to expand in Texas, bringing more than a thousand new jobs. Texas is committed to maintaining a strong business climate that allows companies to prosper, innovate and expand. I predict this will not be the last Amazon facility we will see here," said Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick.

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In Pennsylvania, Amazon will open a second fulfillment center in the Lehigh Valley region, in Palmer Township. The Morning Call reported that, according to Governor Tom Wolf, the 1.1 million-square-foot warehouse is "the first of a $150 million investment the company is making statewide." Amazon's fulfillment centers in Pennsylvania include a one-million-square-foot warehouse complex in Breinigsville, Upper Macungie Township, that opened in 2010.

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