28 June, 2017
As part of its ongoing mission to take over the world and automate everything, Amazon has just filed a new patent for huge beehive-style buildings where their little delivery drones can pick up packages and go to sleep at night. The building would be constructed upward instead of sideways like a traditional warehouse - an arrangement enabled by the fact that flying drones could be deployed from any level of the structure.
In the patent, Amazon describes the tower as a "multi-level fulfillment center for unmanned aerial vehicles". That same month, the company completed its first delivery by drone in the English countryside: an Amazon Fire TV and a bag of popcorn.
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) has announced that it is expanding its idea of launching delivery drones around the U.S. Like its fulfillment centres now, the drone tower patent application included plans for robots that helped human workers fill orders and ferry items around the building. "These locations are not convenience for deliveries into cities where an ever-increasing number of people live".
In the patent application, Amazon states that the beehives could be used in densely populated areas where permitted under local zoning regulations.
In the patent application, Amazon says traditional fulfillment centers on the outskirts of large cities - like the one planned for a Troutdale industrial park - aren't cutting it anymore.
Although it's unclear if Amazon will make the drone centers a reality - patents often don't see the light of day - it's the latest look into the ecommerce giant's ambitions for drone delivery.
For example, today's patent filings also include a flurry of Amazon proposals for reducing propeller noise and making drones more fail-safe. The company plans to expand the service to dozens of customers near its British facility in the near future.
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