American inventor Thomas Edison is credited with inventing the light bulb, the phonograph record, the motion picture camera, and many other technologies we take for granted today. When they were first unveiled in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Edison’s innovations were revolutionary, far-sighted, and permanently changed the way most people live.
Could the team of inventors currently working at Amazon’s research laboratories be doing the same thing for the 21st Century?
Recent Patent Applications
In December 2013, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos shocked the world when he announced on “60 Minutes” that the massive online retailer was considering the use of pilotless drones to deliver packages to customers within 30 minutes of their placing their order.
Now, Amazon’s drone delivery program has been successfully tested and is ready to become a reality just as soon as the company can work out regulatory details with the Federal Aeronautics Administration.
But Bezos and his band of innovators aren’t out of surprises yet.
In just the past month, Amazon has submitted patent applications for a number of futuristic and fantastic inventions, including floating airships that could serve as roaming distribution centers and an elaborate underground tunneling system that could deliver packages to your basement.
Blimps That Delivery Packages
According to recent leaks from Amazon’s creative research and development headquarters in Seattle, the company is working on a top-secret program that would use blimps to deliver packages to customers within seconds after they order products online.
The airships could be used at sporting events, for example, to drop items such as team jerseys or snacks to fans watching their favorite team play live. Or they could hover above major metropolitan areas and drop drones that could deliver goods from distances as high as 45,000 feet.
Underground Tunnel System
As if that wasn’t bizarre enough, last week Amazon applied for a patent for an intricate underground tunneling system that would use conveyor belts, pneumatic tubes, and other devices to deliver packages directly to the basements and cellars of its customers’ homes.
The rationale behind the plan is that it could dramatically reduce traffic jams and congestion in urban areas by eliminating the need for delivery vans and trucks.
While both of these ideas seem far-fetched, so did the company’s drone delivery program when Bezos first unveiled it less than three years ago and it is reportedly has been tested and is ready to go as soon as Amazon gets the okay from government regulators.