Amazon recently announced their development of a technology that would revolutionize the online shopping experience. As if from a scene straight out of science fiction, our packages could show up to our doorsteps in a matter of just 30 minutes.

The company proposed using unmanned octocopter hooked up to state-of-the-art GPS navigation to deliver small to medium-sized packages to houses that lie within a 10 mile radius of a distribution center. Ordered items would come packaged in waterproof plastic boxes to protect them from the elements better than an ordinary cardboard box.

However, this technology has raised multiple questions from online shoppers. Is it cost-effective? Could it pose dangers towards other aerial vehicles? Could people damage or steal the drones?

Amazon is working on getting approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for this transportation method to become a reality. It is essential that public safety remains uncompromised–there is always the potential of a drone having electrical failure and falling out of the sky, injuring a bystander or damaging their property. Software isn’t perfect, and it could do something unprecedented. These are factors Amazon has to consider before releasing the technology to the public.

“The FAA is committed to safe, efficient and timely integration of unmanned aircraft systems into our airspace,” the agency said in a statement. “Over the next several years the FAA will establish regulations and standards for the safe integration of remote piloted (unmanned aircraft) to meet increased demand.”

As to how Amazon will deal with the threat of lost or stolen drones, the public is still unsure. Amazon says they hope this technology will start becoming available as early as 2015. Eventually, seeing a drone will be as common as seeing a mail truck.