Amazon's vision for drone deliveries has captured the world's attention, and the company has already begun testing in the United Kingdom. But before repeating the experiment in other markets, Amazon still needs to secure the necessary permissions. That hasn't stopped the company from imagining even more extravagant solutions than an army of drones buzzing over our heads. A patent originally filed in April describes airships taking on the role of floating warehousesaccompanied by drones that can move products within minutes.
First Drone Delivery
Amazon carried out its first drone delivery in the United Kingdom under the Prime Air service. The flight was a success, and the customer had to wait only thirteen minutes between order confirmation and package delivery. This definitely has the potential to change forever the way we shop online, but there is a lot of bureaucracy in between. The flight is just an experiment, and the two customers involved live very close to a central warehouse, meaning we are looking at almost ideal conditions. Amazon is aiming all its guns at the United States, where it hopes to get authorization from the FAA. Until that happens, it will have to settle for a new patent and look much higher.
A Patent for Floating Warehouses
Patent 9,305,280 presents an "Air Fulfillment Center" with unmanned vehicles intended for product delivery. The phrase "Air Fulfillment Center" is a very colorful choice for what appears to be an airship equipped with a complete warehouse underneath, filled with drones and merchandise. The airship remains stationary over the city at an altitude of 13,000 meters, and when it's time to deliver orders, the drones basically glide through the air to reach their destination. Drones consume a large amount of energy when taking off and landing, but if they work using an airship as a base of operations, they would be much more efficient.
A Crazy Idea That Might Work
In summary: a "super-drone" with hundreds of mini drones inside, going up and down according to what customers request. A series of ferries are responsible for keeping the aerial warehouse full, removing waste, and of course, moving employees. A pretty crazy idea from Amazon, but they said the same about their drones in 2013, and they are already flying...
