The last time I wrote about a patent, it was one by Amazon, and it described what I call a Ship-to Person model. Currently, all shipments go to an address, which will be an obsolete process in the future. With logistics operations becoming more agile and flexible, it will be possible to bring a package to a person, where ever he is. The more agile and flexible the delivery system, the shorter the time frame will be that a person needs to stay in a set location for the delivery to happen.
How agile and flexible can you be in a congested city? Not very. Unless you can avoid traffic, like with a drone. Great idea, but most have batteries. And, like most smartphone and electric car owners know: they need to be recharged, especially when used intensively. If you are a delivery company that uses drones, you’d want them in use intensively, so how to do this.
Boeing just patented a system that solves just that. The system Boeing has patented for inflatable drones being re-charged in mid-air. This means they are more secure (compared to landing on the ground), and there are way more options, as the video of PatentYogi shows. Recharging can happen on top of a building, a pole, a ship, or even a plain or balloon floating high in the air.
If you have not yet done so, check the video above for a nice and easy explanation of the system. Or click here.
Ship-to Person. Bring it!
