Look Out, Amazon: Dubai Could Have Delivery Drones by Year's End The United Arab Emirates will employ drones equipped with eye-recognition and fingerprint technology to deliver important government documents by year's end.
By Geoff Weiss
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Though Amazon's proposed drones may be snagged in regulatory approval for many years to come, the futuristic devices will reportedly be flying the friendly skies of Dubai in a matter of months.
And it's not even a retailer that's seeking to employ the high-tech machines, but the United Arab Emirates' government itself, which intends to deliver driver's licenses, medicine and other official documents by air, reports Sky News.
The 18-inch, battery-powered, four-rotor drones were announced at the Virtual Future Exhibition, a government summit in Dubai, before the country's prime minister and ruler. Two white prototypes touted the UAE flag.
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While the delivery of critical government documentation via drone may sound like a recipe for disaster, the project's engineer, Abdulrahman Alserkal, told the outlet that fingerprint and eye-recognition technology would be used to protect the cargo from unauthorized recipients.
After an announced testing period of six months, the program could be operational country-wide within a year.
However, in addition to the civilian air regulations that may delay Amazon's Prime Air program, Dubai's drones will also have to contend with scorching temperatures and sand storms, Sky News noted.
Related: Not Science Fiction: Amazon Is Working on a Drone-Powered Delivery System
