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Amazon's latest patent could cut delivery time to mere seconds

<p>Amazon conducted its <a href="http://www.newsy.com/stories/amazon-primeair-makes-first-drone-delivery-in-uk/" target="_blank">first drone delivery</a> earlier this month. But it's apparently already planning ahead for when a drop by drone is Amazon's go-to delivery method.</p><p>This is Amazon's concept for an "airborne fulfillment center." Think of it as a warehouse way up in the sky.</p><p>According to the patent application, the fulfillment center would house items available for purchase on the website. Drones carrying orders would be deployed from the center. Once the drones made their deliveries, they'd then fly to a location to be sent back to the airborne center. </p><p>The patent application says using an airborne fulfillment center and drones to deliver items would use less power than if a drone were to be deployed from a facility on the ground.</p><p>Smaller shuttles would deliver the drones, items to restock the warehouse and employees to the aerial fulfillment center.</p><p>While Amazon is <a href="http://fortune.com/2016/12/20/amazon-new-distribution-centers/" target="_blank">continuing to expand</a> the number of traditional brick and mortar fulfillment centers, an aerial facility would allow the company to shift the warehouse's location based on weather or demand.</p><p><b>SEE MORE: <a href="http://www.newsy.com/stories/with-no-lines-or-registers-amazon-go-store-uses-ai/">Amazon Go: A Store With No Lines And No Registers</a></b></p><p>The United States Patent and Trademark Office <a href="http://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?PageNum=0&docid=09305280&IDKey=6E613DD5C266%0D%0A&HomeUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fpatft.uspto.gov%2Fnetacgi%2Fnph-Parser%3FSect1%3DPTO2%2526Sect2%3DHITOFF%2526p%3D1%2526u%3D%25252Fnetahtml%25252FPTO%25252Fsearch-bool.html%2526r%3D1%2526f%3DG%2526l%3D50%2526co1%3DAND%2526d%3DPTXT%2526s1%3D%252522airborne%252Bfulfillment%252Bcenter%252522%2526OS%3D%2526RS%3D" target="_blank">awarded the patent</a> to Amazon in April. But it was just recently uncovered by <a href="https://twitter.com/zoe_leavitt/status/814212767041331202" target="_blank">a tech analyst</a> at <a href="https://www.cbinsights.com/" target="_blank">CB Insights</a>.</p><p>Amazon has apparently been thinking up the "airship warehouse" for a while. It filed the patent application in December 2014.</p><p>But there's a long way to go before a hovering Amazon warehouse could become a reality — if it even ever becomes one. </p><p><b>SEE MORE: <a href="http://www.newsy.com/stories/amazon-s-brick-and-mortar-bookstores-are-expanding/">Amazon Has Brick-And-Mortar Bookstores — And They're Expanding</a></b></p><p>Amazon <a href="http://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/amazon-faa-drone-rules/" target="_blank">hasn't been able</a> to deliver by drone in the U.S. because of current Federal Aviation Administration restrictions. And even if Amazon was allowed to deliver by drone in the U.S., it would still need to get the airborne fulfillment center concept, technology and construction off the ground, so to speak. </p><hr><b>Trending stories at <a href="http://www.newsy.com">Newsy.com</a></b><ul class="inline-related-links"><li><a href="http://www.newsy.com/stories/iranian-official-boeing-planes-worth-half-of-original-deal/">IranAir's Deal With Boeing May Get A Price Slash</a></li><li><a href="http://www.newsy.com/stories/artificial-intelligence-threatens-driving-jobs/">The Future Is Here, And It's Filled With Robots Taking Jobs</a></li><li><a href="http://www.newsy.com/stories/uber-pulls-self-driving-program-in-san-francisco/">Not Even Uber Can Get Away With Driving Without A Permit</a></li></ul>
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With the introduction of delivery drones and a checkout-less convenience store, Amazon is revolutionizing the way the world buys things. But the company’s latest patent is perhaps its most ambitious idea yet.

CNBC reports that Amazon has been awarded a patent for what it describes as an “airborne fulfillment center” (AFC) — basically, a huge, mobile warehouse full of products that could be delivered to consumers in seconds.

The AFC would be suspended at about 45,000 feet in the air and be filled with products. When customers place orders from their phone, a drone would grab their product from the AFC and fly it down to customers below.

 

 

The AFC resembles a large blimp, and would be refueled and restocked with products in the air by aerial shuttles. The delivery drones would also be able to recharge after they return to the aerial warehouse.

The patent says the AFCs would be used at outdoor events with thousands of people, like sports games or music festivals. Like the blimps that hover around the biggest sporting events, the AFC would also double as a giant billboard and advertise products available for purchase.

CNBC also reports that the patent was awarded in April. Patents only grant a company the sole right to produce their invention for a certain period of time, and they do not necessarily mean the idea will ever be introduced.