Amazon receives patent for parachute shipping label

Amazon Technologies has filed a patent application in India for a technology which might ensure that automated aerial vehicles (AAVs, better known as drones) do not hit humans or animals while delivering packages.

This comes as the e-commerce major is working on Amazon Prime Air, a service aimed to deliver packages up to five pounds in 30 minutes or less, using small drones.

The patent application, for propeller safety in AAVs, describes a system for automatically detecting a contact or an imminent contact between a propeller of the AAV and an object such as a human, pet or other animal. When a contact is detected, a safety profile is executed, by which the rotation of the propeller could be quickly stopped.

It includes stopping the propeller or other propellers, moving it away from the object, landing the vehicle, emitting an audible tone or changing the way the blades rotate.

It also details another form, where the AAV will communicate with other AAVs in the area to provide or receive information, such as the weather conditions, landing conditions, traffic, objects or safety profiles, which could then be utilised to plan the route or flight path for other AAVs.

According to reports, the company got an okay this week from the US Patent and Trademark Office for a shipping label, including a built-in parachute, to enable the delivery of packages by aerial vehicles. The company is also doing trials in the UK to gather data to improve the safety and reliability of these systems.

The company is testing different vehicle designs and delivery mechanisms to discover the best ways to deliver packages in different operating environments.