A patent application, filed July 12, showed drones going in and out of “tiny depots perched on light poles or telecommunications towers, carrying packages bound for a broad geographical region,” USA Today reported. Drones would stop at strategically placed docking stations on cell towers, utility poles church steeples and more, not necessarily fly directly to customers’ houses. The final leg of the package delivery would then come via ground—for now. Additionally, the docking stations could come with solar panels to generate power.
While there is no clear timeline on when drones could legally deliver packages via air, Amazon has been granted a patent for its Prime Air service drone delivery ideas.
USA Today reported that the Federal Aviation Administration’s commercial drone use rules are only for certain aerial functions, and package delivery is not yet on that list. However, Amazon’s “multi-use unmanned aerial vehicle docking station system” provides a glimpse into the future of its possible Prime Air service, which could have drones delivering packages via air in the future.
USA Today noted that each drone’s delivery radius would depend on package weight and weather patterns. Amazon’s most recent delivery drone prototypes weigh 55 pounds and can carry packages up to five pounds. They would ideally fly under 400 feet and use “sense and avoid” technology, according to USA Today.
Other uses for the delivery drones have yet to be revealed by Amazon, but now that the company has the patent for its docking drone idea, the sky’s the limit.
Reader Interactions