Amazon Is Dreaming of Blimp Warehouses.

Amazon goes big yet again

Amazon has hundreds of warehouses—Fulfillment Centers, as it calls them— across the globe. Between 2010 and 2013, the company spent almost $14 billion on new warehouses. This patent, filed in 2014 but only recently discovered by tech analyst Zoe Leavitt, could bring a new definition of what it means to shop in the cloud.

Amazon describes "an airborne fulfillment center ("AFC") and the use of unmanned aerial vehicles ("UAV") to deliver items from the AFC to users." The patent imagines the flying warehouse at 45,000 feet above the ground, with smaller drones that travel from the sky to the ground and back again. There would still be employees at these facilities, with shuttles to transport workers and being sent around the ship for fueling and repairs.

The patent presents hypothetical scenarios in which Amazon would want a flying warehouse around. "The AFC may be utilized to promote or advertise items and/or to fulfill an expected high demand at an area, such as a location of a temporal event (e.g., sporting event, concert, or other gathering)." The patent images also imagines filling the stockroom in the sky with items that are "frequently ordered, such as a popular book, shoe, video game, tablet, etc."

How a flying warehouse would work, according to Amazon.

Of course, a patent doesn't necessarily mean Amazon would ever follow through on the sky-high plan. Still, the company is taking flight very seriously. Earlier this month, the company completed its first drone delivery in Cambridge, England with a specially built Prime Air warehouse. Questions have emerged about how impressive that milestone really is, given that the home of the buyer was right next to the facility. A flying warehouse could shorten the distance for all drone deliveries by moving the drones closer, which could only help in their flight times.

Sources : popularmechanics

posted by lol ik.