Collective deliveries

News has emerged about yet another delivery drone patent from Amazon. This time, the Seattle retail giant has come up with an idea of getting drones to swarm together, so they can combine their strength and collectively deliver much larger items. “A collective UAV may be used to aerially transport virtually any size, weight, or quantity of items, travel longer distances, etc.,” according to the Amazon patent, which was filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in February 2015 and published on 29 December.

The drones would be designed in such away that they can be hooked up and share power, and then operate as one unit.

As previously reported, the technology media has been buzzing with stories about Amazon drone patents over the past couple of weeks. Recently-granted patents for Amazon include a scheme for giant flying warehouses supported by fleets of delivery drones, and systems designed to protect drones from physical and cyber attacks.