The patent for depots that resemble beehives, which could be used to send drone deliveries in the future, was recently filed by Amazon. The futuristic “Prime Air” service, which could send packages by drone in less than thirty minutes, has already been tested by the company. According to the patent application of the U.S., the nine storey facilities will be used to house and recharge drones. The beehive-like depots are designed to consume less space in cities and towns and minimize congestions on roads.
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Multi-Level Fulfillment Centers
The company is committed to changing the way people around the world receive packages. It is anticipated that these multi-level fulfillment centers will make it possible for drones to take off and land, particularly in urban centers with a high density of people. The application, which was filed in 2015 with the Trademark and US Patent Office, was published earlier last week. It included a number of drawings of drones flying outside and inside a tall cylinder-shaped building that Amazon wants to put in the middle of major cities. Amazon is expected to be able to move away from the previous model of single-story warehouses in which packages were temporarily stored before being shipped to customers through these centers. The buildings are situated at urban areas’ outskirts and aren’t convenient for city deliveries where populations keep on enlarging. According to some part of the application, locating fulfillment centers within centers would allow quicker delivery of items to the ever growing city populations not forgetting the high population of individuals working in the cities.
Every day thousands of orders would be fulfilled using these centers and drones would use them to recharge their batteries. According to Amazon, the drone centers could control flight operations using a “central command” just like flight controllers at airports. Additionally, these structures would guarantee conventional vehicle deliveries. In a similar vein, they might have self-service locations where customers can personally pick up their purchases. Possible Obstacles If Amazon decides to implement the concept of urban drone centers that are outlined in the patent application, the company may have to contend with a number of obstacles in the still-developing field of commercial drone regulation, such as local zoning, development laws, and attempts to regulate the drones’ movements. Late last year, Amazon announced that it was looking to collaborate with the British government to carry out exploring tests for the viability of small parcels delivery by drones and launch the first such test in the UK.
According to the Seattle-based company, it had tested the Prime Air Drone service successfully in December in Cambridge when an unmanned aircraft delivered a TV streaming stick and a popcorn bag to the garden of a customer. Amazon was also in the headlines late last year with “airborne fulfillment centers,” a flying warehouses patent that could be positioned above metropolitan centers and function like airships to coordinate drone deliveries.
Moreover, the retail giant has filed a delivery of packages by parachutes patent. This indicates that drones could drop packages from above. The parachutes on the drones would make it possible for them to land safely when delivering goods to customers. Some skeptics are claiming that all these drone-related patents are about gaining free publicity rather than about innovation.
Although drones with eight propellers can carry on with their flight in case one propeller fails, six or four-propeller drones might not sustain controlled flight in case of a propeller damage or motor failure. According to Amazon, the solution would be having two motors in each propeller. The first motor would be in a position to rotate the shaft drive in case the second motor fails.
Patent applications do not imply that a system or product will be deployed. However, the patent activity showcased by Amazon suggests that the Seattle-based company is dedicated to drone delivery. Wedbush Securities’ Michael Pachter stated that the use of commercial drones for Amazon’s potential noise reduction and safety measures would not be necessary. If a president who is opposed to regulations by the government is elected, Amazon’s efforts will receive a major help at the federal level. Nevertheless, it would face strict drone delivery restrictions especially from state governments that are concerned about safety. Moreover, local governments that are concerned about nuisance and noise issues would impose strict drone delivery restrictions.
Conclusion
Locating fulfillment centers around cities will allow for quicker item delivery to the ever growing population in the cities. Therefore, rather than sprawling above Inland Empire warehouses, the towers for the drones would rise skyward. Moving goods around would be the job of the inside robots. Additionally, they would conduct drones’ maintenance. According to the application, the aerial vehicles would fly from one place to another inside the tower. To reduce noise, the activities of these drones would occur on the upper levels. Dutzendes of patent applications addressing the noise issue further demonstrate the company’s determination to make drone delivery a commercial reality. According to reports, Amazon has filed for over half a dozen patents related to propeller designs for reducing sound or improving its acceptability to the human ear compared to the common high-pitched whine of drones.
