Droning on about flying warehouses

It sounds like science fiction,
but the concept of a global
flying warehouse may not
be beyond the realms of
possibility.
The global on-line retail
titan, Amazon, is the
sole patent-holder for the
concept of a massive flying
warehouse, with stock
replenished by a series of
shuttles (smaller airships)
and with fleets of drones to
deliver goods to key locations.
The company’s drone
delivery ambitions have
been highly publicised since
2013. But this patent filing
from Amazon is about how
the e-commerce giant could
make drone deliveries work
through “airborne fulfilment
centres (AFCs)”.
These are basically
high-tech, state-of-the-art
Zeppelins – without the
highly combustible gas,
hydrogen, as their support
medium.
The AFCs would be
stocked with a certain
amount of inventory and
positioned near a location
where Amazon predicted
there would be a booming
demand for certain items.
In its patent filing,
Amazon suggested for
example that this could be a
major sporting event where
its AFCs could float above
the stadium carrying snacks
and souvenirs – items that
sports fans buy in plenty.
At the same time, these
AFCs could also deliver audio
or display advertising near
the event.
The patent reflects
a complex network of
systems to enable delivery
by air, allowing the drones,
including temperaturecontrolled
models for food
delivery, to be stocked at the
AFCs and sent down to make
a precise, safe, scheduled or
on-demand delivery.
To service the AFCs,
Amazon envisioned the
shuttles carrying people,
supplies and drones to the
AFCs or back to the ground.
It also pointed out that this
use of shuttles to return
drones to the AFC would
allow it to reserve the drones’
power for making deliveries
only.
The company also
envisaged this warehouse
system having full cybersupport,
with all its elements
being connected to inventory
management systems and
other software and remote
computing resources,
managed by people in the air
or on the ground.
The patent also detailed
its various vehicles ‘talking’
to each other as they flew
deliveries around. Basically,
the whole kit and caboodle
functioning as a mesh
network, relaying data to
each other about weather,
wind speed and routing, for
example, or beaming e-book
content down to readers on
the ground.
If this plan were to see
the light of day, Amazon
would likely need regulatory
approval from aviation
authorities which could be
complex. But, while the US
firm files and is awarded
many patents, it does not
necessarily mean the ideas
will become reality.