If you are wondering about how the city of a near future might look like, imagining giant airships roaming the skies might soon be a pretty safe bet. A patent for Amazon’s flying warehouses revealed some futuristic but also very possible technological solutions that the online retail leader is looking to implement.
The patent describes “airborne fulfillment centres” (AFC) that will float above cities, at about 14,000 meters carrying goods to be delivered by an army of drones - unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
Why will the airships be useful to Amazon? It will need fewer physical warehouses and the delivery by drones from an AFC will require very little power, as the drones will essentially glide down to their destination.
Here’s how the patent describes the workings of the flying warehouses:
“As the UAVs descend, they can navigate horizontally toward a user-specified delivery location using little to no power, other than to stabilise the UAV and/or guide the direction of descent. Shuttles (smaller airships) may be used to replenish the AFC with inventory, UAVs, supplies, fuel, etc. Likewise, the shuttles may be utilised to transport workers to and from the AFC.”
The Daily Mail made a helpful graphic to show the process envisioned by Amazon:
Another interesting aspect - the airships could be used as giant advertising boards and customers will be able to order what they see displayed.
How would the airships be used? There are many applications. One way will be to fly them over events like football games to deliver snacks and merchandise to the spectators. Imagine a fleet of drones hovering over the stadium during breaks.
How far are we from this being a reality? We might be one or two years away, if you judge by Amazon’s previous predictions. Amazon made its first successful drone delivery at the end of 2016. Here’s how that looked:“'Perishable items or even prepared meals can be delivered in a timely fashion to a user,' says the patent.
You can also watch the video by clicking on the Play Button
Article Edited from Big Think
