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Walmart Files Patent for a Blimp Warehouse

posted by martyb on Sunday August 20 2017, @08:41PM   Printer-friendly
from the up-in-the-air-about-this dept.

takyon writes:

Blimps and drones: a combination made in logistics heaven?

Amazon isn't the only retailer that's looking into drone delivery. Walmart appears to be working on a similar concept but its solution might be a bit different compared to Amazon's. Walmart has filed for a US patent for a floating blimp warehouse which will make delivers via drones. The idea is to have a floating warehouse up in the sky from where Walmart can instantly ship products to customers using drones.

According to the patent filing, the blimp-style floating warehouse would fly at heights between 500 and 1,000 feet. It will have multiple launch bays for sending drone deliveries. The blimp itself will either fly autonomously or be remotely controlled by a human pilot. This solution could help Walmart lower the cost of fulfilling online orders, cutting down on "last mile" costs to a customer's house which is normally handled by a logistics company.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 20 2017, @09:43PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 20 2017, @09:43PM (#556790)

    I remember this exact concept being discussed either here or on the green site 1-6 months ago (It gets hazy when you're dealing with a few dozen stories a day and a few hundred plus a week.)

    Practically speaking: Is the FAA going to allow this? As a semi-permanent fixture in the air, how is this going to affect airspace for people concern with pollution and other such issues from what is essentially a giant air-barge belching out exhaust above a city, with none of the normal emission control requirements?