Online shopping giant Amazon has unveiled its proposed future drone delivery system, Prime Air.
Prime Air is designed to fly up to 15 miles (24 kilometres) to deliver packages weighing up to five pounds (2.2 kilograms) bought online within 30 minutes.
In a video presented by former BBC Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson, the drone is shown flying over the countryside at an altitude of 400 feet and delivering a pair of shoes.
In a statement online, Amazon said the drones used "sense and avoid" technology "as well as a high degree of automation, to safely operate beyond the line of sight to distances of 10 miles or more".
"Our vehicles will be built with multiple redundancies, as well as sophisticated “sense and avoid” technology," the statement said.
"We will not launch Prime Air until we are able to demonstrate safe operations."
Amazon has high hopes for its drone delivery service, declaring in the statement, "One day, seeing Prime Air vehicles will be as normal as seeing mail trucks on the road".
The drones, which weigh 24.9 kilograms or 55 pounds, are able to fly both vertically like a helicopter and horizontally like an aeroplane.
Amazon's Prime Air drone. Source: Supplied
However the company will have to navigate a minefield of safety and legislative hurdles before its can introduce the technology.
The US Federal Aviation Administration released new rules surrounding unmaned vehicles earlier this year.
Among the rules are requirements for drones to be within the line of sight of the operator at all times, and "may not operate over any persons not directly involved in the operation".
Drones are also only allowed to operate in daylight hours and in good visability conditions.
Prime Air is currently being tested in the United Kingdom, the United States and Israel.
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