South suburbs to receive Amazon drone deliveries this summer

South suburban residents living near Amazon's fulfillment centers in Markham and Matteson are expected to have a new option for Amazon deliveries: drones.

As soon as this summer, drones are expected to drop off 5-pounds or less packages that are as large as a shoe box in an 8-mile radius of the two suburban sites. Each site will have 12 to 20 drones, Amazon officials said.

Though delivery costs will vary, Amazon Prime members will pay $4.99 per delivery. Shoppers might also get an option for free shipping for orders of more than $50, said Josh Brundage, Prime Air senior manager of commercial operations.

Customers choosing drone delivery will receive an aerial satellite image of their homes with predetermined delivery points to decide where they want the package delivered. Deliveries are expected to happen in less than two hours, Brundage said.

Drones are capable of using cameras for self navigation.

The announcement from Amazon comes as the expansion of other autonomous delivery devices including Coco robots and Serve robots has become contentious as some residents call for their removal. While the launch is only coming to Markham and Matteson's fulfillment centers, Brundage said the goal is to continue expanding.

The south suburbs will join other autonomous drone delivery sites across the country including Texas, Florida, Michigan and Kansas.

"We want to bring this everywhere we can," Brundage said.

He added, "certain geographies, or more challenging downtown areas, things like that, right now pose a challenge. But everywhere where we can provide this service, we certainly want to."

For those who are skeptical, Brundage said Amazon will host community events. The next one is taking place from 3 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., March 2 at the Tinley Park Convention Center.

"Just like any new technology, you know, sometimes people are a little leery to adopt it, but usually once they see it and once they see what it's capable of, it genuinely becomes a big deal of excitement," Brundage said.