Amazon says it plans to use self-piloted drones to deliver packages to shoppers' home in the coming months.

However, the online shopping giant is yet to give exact dates or reveal the areas that will get drone deliveries first.

Amazon says its new drones use computer vision and machine learning to detect and avoid people or laundry clotheslines in backyards when landing.

Jeff Wilke is the CEO of Amazon Consumer Worldwide.

"Once the customer gets too close, he's detected before the drone gets close to the ground. The drone recognizes that it's not safe, so it doesn't descend any further. Customers are notified when the drone is approaching, in our system, so we don't expect to see people in the delivery zone very often, but that doesn't matter. We collect huge amounts of data and run millions of simulations to verify that any situation is covered."

Speaking at the company's inaugural tech conference, Wilke said the drones are fully electric and can fly up to 15 miles and carry packages that weigh up to five pounds.

"So, I think this is beautiful, and it's the most elegant and sophisticated system out there today."

The Federal Aviation Administration, which regulates commercial use of drones in the U.S., did not immediately respond to a request for comment last week.

Founder and CEO of Amazon Jeff Bezos unveils his space company Blue Origin's space exploration lunar lander called Blue Moon at an event in Washington, U.S., May 9, 2019.[Photo: Xinhua]

In April, a subsidiary of search engine Google got the approval from the FAA to make drone deliveries in parts of Virginia.

Amazon has been working on drone delivery for years.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos first introduced his company's plans to introduce drone deliveries back in 2013, but there have been delays in initiating the program due to regulatory hurdles.

Amazon has also put new efforts into exploring deep space.

Bezos' private space company Blue Origin says it will soon send its first civilian astronauts to space on its New Shepard rocket.

The rocket is competing with Elon Musk's Space X and Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic to launch the first space tourist flight.