What’s the Point of Amazon Self-destructing Drones
Amazon is taking a page out of the spy genre in a newly-patented feature for its future fleet of delivery drones. Filings for a patent granted to the internet retailer show a self-destructing drone that is able to strategically disassemble in the air during an emergency to mitigate any potential damage from an otherwise fully-formed delivery drone, or as the patent describes it, “direct fragmentation for unmanned airborne vehicles.”
Perhaps the self-destructing drones will find a home in the recently-patented hive-like structure approved this past summer.
Amazon / USPTO
While programming a self-destruct sequence may seem like a curious safety feature, having a crashing drone break into pieces before impact can reduce the chances for significant property damage or injury to people on the ground. The feature would use the onboard computing system to analyze conditions to determine the best course of action.
DRONE TECH
Amazon has big plans for its delivery drones that don’t involve ripping themselves apart in mid-air. The company was granted a patent in mid-October to allow drones to recharge electric vehicles, which would effectively give the world its first commercial roving fueling stations. And this is just one of the many innovative applications of drone technology that have emerged recently.
Source: Amazon drone designed to self-destruct in emergencies. Here’s why.
