Amazon Flying Warehouse Patent Released: Blimp Flies 45,000-Feet In Sky, Spits Drone Deliveries [Opinion]
Amazon has conjured up the mother ships of all mother ships with this blimp-like flying warehouse designed to float at high altitudes while carrying a treasure trove of products. The people at Amazon call this ship an “airborne fulfillment center” and it will be equipped with drones that shoot out from the ship, heading every which way to deliver the packages almost instantly to the Amazon online shopper.
This Amazon flying warehouse got off the drawing board and made its way to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The patent for this flying warehouse was awarded in April, but just released this week, reports USA Today. This innovative Amazon patent seems to indicate the online giant has developed one more way to deliver something this nation has become extremely fond of, instant gratification. The thought behind these warehouses in the sky is to get the products to Amazon consumers faster than ever before. The airborne fulfillment center has Amazon bringing the world just that much closer to a “Jetsons”-like future where even shopping will now be done from the sky.
Amazon patent hints at floating warehouses in the sky https://t.co/UubnrRhGJV pic.twitter.com/rSpMoQ7BWQ
— CNN (@CNN) December 29, 2016
Soon the drones will be an everyday occurrence as they buzz on down from the sky and drop a package at your doorstep and at the doorsteps of your neighbors. If you thought Amazon using drones to deliver packages was considered “cool,” wait for this next step, suggests USA Today. Amazon is bringing package delivery to an entirely different level! A fleet of these airborne fulfillment centers could be stationed over the bigger metropolitan areas just waiting for those orders to pour in.
If you are going out for the evening and you come across the perfect purse for the occasion, it could actually be swooped down to you in no time. The only pitfall of online shopping is that you have to wait to get your purchase. It is not like going to a brick and mortar store where your purchase is wrapped in a bag and then it goes home with you. This new flying warehouse bridges the benefits of staying at home and shopping online with the gratification of getting your items shortly after you order them with a click of a key. You could actually purchase that new dress online and be showering while it is dropped at your door, ready for you to don on your evening out.
The patent consists of drawings that don’t seem to resemble a feat of modern technology; it actually looks like something you might find a century ago when blimps were all the rage. It is a rectangular warehouse that hangs underneath a blimp. This would be the launching pad for the drones to carry what people have ordered to the homes and businesses below the warehouse in the sky. Daily Tech asks their readers how it will feel to get their merchandise “directly from the clouds.” Many folks are just getting used to having their information stored in the clouds made possible by the tech world. The online giant has this concept of their shopping items eventually dropping out of the real white-puffy clouds in the sky.
Amazon’s airborne fulfillment center will also have shuttles to bring the products up to the warehouse in the sky, keeping the warehouse filled with a constant supply of inventory. The shuttles would also double as transportation to and from work for the employees of the Amazon flying warehouse. This might not be the ideal job for someone with a fear of heights, but it sure will give you a tale to spin for your grandchildren, if you are one of the first employees of one of these future Amazon sky-high warehouses.
Amazon’s airborne fulfillment center has a few more uses besides flying high above the Earth filled with stuff, stuff, and more stuff. The company plans to use the Amazon flying warehouse for advertising. They also plan to situate the airborne fulfillment center near large sporting events filled with merchandise that the fans would most likely order. This way they can get an Amazon drone delivery while they are still at the game and still in the spirit for that team’s memorabilia.
The patent gives the example of Amazon’s airborne fulfillment center maintaining a height of 45,000 feet over a city as drones drop down with the merchandise and deliver it to the customers below. If you are worried about the blimps interfering with aircraft traffic, there’s no need to. The blimps will float above the flight traffic, reports Daily Tech. With these blimps situated at 45,000 feet, they are well out of the way of commercial flights that don’t utilize the airspace higher than 42,000 feet. Well, it looks interesting on paper, but will it ever materialize? Only time will tell.
[Featured Image by Mel Evans/AP Images]
