Amazon is constantly striving to make its delivery job easier and more efficient. The latest idea is a new patent for a system consisting of a swarm of drones controlled by one van. The delivery van would transport parcels almost to their destination, then send out and direct delivery drones to execute the final drop-off.
The company hasn’t announced plans to bring this idea to life, so it may never happen. Nevertheless, it’s an exciting strategy, and Amazon has put its name on it!
Drones are already in use by Amazon and other companies like UPS, Walmart, and Tesco. The machines fly or drive, delivering packages, food, medicine, medical supplies, and more. At the moment, it’s all experimental trials.
Autonomous delivery vehicles can be costly because of all the equipment they need, like sensors, processors, and navigation systems. That doesn’t leave much room for parcels or groceries if the drone is small, rendering them inefficient in the end.
That’s why Amazon came up with a better way. The patent describes how most of the drone’s equipment would be in its mother delivery van, freeing up space and saving money by only buying one system for several drones.
How It Works
- The primary vehicle would carry the packages and flying drones or small ground vehicles (or both). It would also house all the equipment and serve as the commanding station, wirelessly guiding its fleet.
- Then, the van would drive to the location, park, and send the smaller vehicles to deliver the parcels all at once to the whole neighborhood.
- Cameras, sonar, radar, LiDAR, or other location sensors analyze the best path for each secondary vehicle, then beam the instructions to it wirelessly using Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.
- The secondary vehicle would be equipped with a logo or QR code that the van’s camera can track as it moves around.
- The van can even recalculate new speeds or paths to help the secondary vehicle get around an obstacle.
- After the drop-off has been made, the van instructs the drone on how to return.
As neat as this sounds, Amazon is always patenting innovations (as all big companies do) to keep the competition from snatching the best ideas. Only time will tell if this idea shall come to pass.
