Ordering online and having a drone arrive at your door with a package a mere half hour later is getting closer to becoming a reality, thanks to a new partnership between Amazon and the British government.

The world's biggest online retailer is aiming to start using delivery drones by 2017, and it confirmed on Monday that it has received permission to test the process in the UK.

Back in November, Jeremy Clarkson – now hosting The Grand Tour on Amazon Video – explained how "Amazon Prime Air" would work...

Last month, the US Federal Aviation Administration said that using drones for deliveries would require separate regulation from their general use.

Such flight restrictions are not in place in Britain.

Wal-Mart indicated in June that it was between six to nine months away from beginning to employ drones to check warehouse inventories in the United States.

Earlier this month, food delivery app Just Eat announced it would start using robots to send orders to customers that are within a two-to-three mile radius of restaurants in London.

When greeted with the robot, consumers can input a code sent through the mobile app to open the lid and collect their food.

The ground drones can "walk" at four miles per hour, using cameras and sensors to avoid obstacles and cross the road.

Here's how they operate...