Amazon patents floating drone warehouses


Amazon is already actively experimenting with drone deliveries, and the company is apparently eyeing a futuristic next step: giant airborne warehouses.
Amazon patented the plans for the floating warehouses, hinting at giant aspirations for the company's fledgling drone delivery program. The patent describes an "airborne fulfillment center utilizing unmanned aerial vehicles for item delivery," with the intent of being a kind of "mothership" for a fleet of drones.
According to the plans, the warehouses would hover at heights of 45,000 feet: "Additional, smaller airships would be used to return the drones back to the [airborne fulfillment center], resupply the mothership with more inventory and fuel, and shuttle workers to the flying factory," The Verge writes.
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For the time being, the plans remain in a patent stage without a timeline for rollout.
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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