Amazon patents accordion-like drone chutes to deliver drone packages

Amazon patent diagram. (Credit: USPTO)

We know Amazon is heavily investing in a near future where drones can be used to deliver packages.  In a recent patent filing we discussed here, it appears Amazon is strongly considering creating a network of mobile merchandise and maintenance facilities utilizing trains, tractor trailer trucks, and boats to keep their drones powered up and in the air.  The mobile merchandise side of this idea, allows Amazon to bring products closer to customers so the drones have shorter delivery routes too.  Now another patent has been filed that may make things more efficient for drones too.

When I first glanced at the patent diagram my immediate thought was the drone (referred to in the patent as an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)), was going to drop packages that had springs on the bottom to cushion their fall.  But actually, it is not a spring but a set of four accordion-like retractable tubes that would attach to the bottom of a quadcopter drone.  The idea of the patent according to the DailyMail, which first spotted the patent, is that a package would be dropped into one of the 4 accordion tubes. The tubes rings help the package slide through carefully and slowly to the target drop-off point such as a porch.  Optionally this approach might be used only when conditions aren’t optimal for landing.  The tubes would also act as a muffler to drown out some of the drones buzzing sound too. After the delivery is completed, the drone would retract the tubes and fly away.

Here is a video and description of Amazon Prime Air delivering their first package in a drone trial in England:

Video transcript below:

0:03
Amazon is developing a service to use
0:06
drones to safely deliver packages to
0:08
customers in 30 minutes or less.
0:11
It’s called Prime Air.
0:14
We’ve started a new private trial for customers in the
0:16
Cambridge area of England, and on December 7th
0:19
we completed our first delivery!
0:21
Customers will choose from a selection of
0:24
thousands of items, tucked away in a
0:26
Prime Air fulfillment center located
0:28
just over the horizon from their homes.
0:31
We’ve been operating fulfillment centers
0:33
for quite a while now, but this one is
0:35
unlike all the rest. These modest looking
0:38
buildings contain innovative Prime Air technology.
0:42
Here’s how it works. Moments after
0:44
receiving the order an
0:45
electrically-powered Amazon drone
0:47
makes its way down an automated track
0:50
and then rises into the sky with the
0:53
customer’s package on board.
0:55
These drones are autonomous –
0:56
from take-off, to landing, and return,
0:58
they operate completely on their own.
1:01
Cruising quietly below 400ft,
1:04
carrying packages up to 5lbs,
1:07
and guided by GPS, our systems are
1:09
designed to find their destinations safely.
1:14
Within 30 minutes of placing the order,
1:16
the customer receives their package.
1:18
For this initial trial, customers
1:20
can choose from the latest tech gadgets,
1:22
to their dog’s favorite biscuits.
1:25
We will use the data gathered during this beta test,
1:27
and the feedback provided by customers,
1:29
to expand the private trial
1:31
to more customers over time.
1:34
We’re starting with two customers now,
1:36
and in the coming months, will offer participation to
1:39
dozens of customers living within
1:40
several miles of our UK facility.
1:43
And then growing to hundreds more.
1:46
After that?
1:48
Well, it’d be easy to say
1:50
‘the sky’s the limit’.
1:51
But that’s not exactly true anymore, is it?