Amazon.com Inc has just taken to the skies with flying warehouses. The tech giant has just filed for a patent to use airships to store products and serve as a base for delivery-drones.
The patent application was filed two years ago but was spotted only on Wednesday by Zoe Leavitt, an analyst at technology data and research firm CB Insights.
Amazon just won a patent for flying warehouses (!) for rapid drone fulfillment and delivery. https://t.co/0ylwAdis5t pic.twitter.com/BbVVZBSH1N
— Downtown Josh Brown (@ReformedBroker) December 29, 2016
The patent includes plans for massive warehouses known as ‘airborne fulfillment centers’ (AFC) , with a fleet of drones. The warehouses will be carried around through airships to locations where demand for certain products is high such as near sporting events where a large number of souvenirs and food supplies are usually bought.
The patent also outlines other vehicles Amazon will need to restock the airborne warehouses. According to the patent filing, drones launched from the AFCs would use far less power than those launched from the ground.
The AFCs would hover at about 45,000 feet (13,700 meters) and be restocked and resupplied by “shuttles or smaller airships.”
Amazon has laid out plans to start using drones for deliveries next year. In fact, Amazon conducted a test run this year itself, when it used a drone to make a commercial delivery for the first time.
With inputs from Reuters
(Feature Image Source: Twitter/Reuters)
