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The unveiling of Prime Air, Amazon’s proposed delivery mechanism within the next 5 years by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on 60 Minutes has revealed that the electronic commerce company is keen to stay ahead in the race for faster deliveries among its competitors.

Currently still at the R&D stage, Amazon hopes to use ‘octo-copter’ drones that will fly packages directly to a consumer’s doorstep in 30 minutes. These fully automated bots with electronic motors will process GPS coordinates to deliver packages up to five pounds – which apparently make up 86% of orders on Amazon.

Speaking to 60 Minutes correspondent Charlie Rose (see the segment here), Bezos admits Amazon will have to put in ‘years of additional work’ before the drones become fully functional, besides needing a green signal from the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to employ unmanned aerial vehicles on a commercial scale. But we can expect to see them become a reality within the next 5 years, added Bezos. “It will work, it will happen and it’s gonna be a lot of fun,” he says in his interview.

Despite obvious limitations – initial deliveries will only be within a 10-mile radius of an Amazon warehouse, only for light packages and only to houses with enough landing space (which leaves out anybody without a lawn) – the possible multiple uses that such drones can be put to in the future make them a very exciting prospect (see one such use already available here).

However, Bezos sees the Prime Air service as a necessary move to stay relevant in a world where even the biggest companies face the threat of extinction every single day.

Watch how the Prime Air service is expected to work here.