USA TODAY US Edition

A flying warehouse? Amazon is aiming high

- Brett Molina @brettmolin­a23 USA TODAY

And you thought getting packages by drone was cool.

An Amazon patent available through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office details plans to create an “airborne fulfillmen­t center.” Basically, a flying warehouse. Details on the April patent were uncovered by CB Insights analyst Zoe Leavitt.

The patent says the warehouse could remain at a high altitude, and drones “with ordered items may be deployed from the center to deliver ordered items to user-designated delivery locations.”

The patent says shuttles could deliver more inventory to the warehouse, as well as transport employees.

Images accompanyi­ng the patent feature a blimp as the chosen airship for the fulfillmen­t center, although it’s not clear the vehicle will be part of Amazon’s final design.

Amazon envisions using this concept beyond delivering customer orders. An example used in the patent details how the flying warehouse could be deployed during an event such as a football game. The warehouse could stock items such as sporting apparel or food, then relocate near the event, so customers could order items and have them quickly delivered by drone.

The patent says that in some cases, the fulfillmen­t center could “navigate to a lower altitude and provide advertisin­g.”

The details of the patent cap what has been a wild month for Amazon, which delivered its first package by drone this month. The test was completed in the United Kingdom.

When it’s not working on delivery technology, Amazon is opening grocery stores without checkout lines. The company is testing out the concept in Seattle. Users tap their smartphone­s as they enter the store to log in and add items through an app. When the customers walk out, the app charges their Amazon accounts.

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