Amazon is apparently proceeding with its plan to employ fleets of delivery drones that can fulfill orders in 30 minutes or less.
According to a report by the The Washington Post, the e-tailer applied for, and last week was granted, a new patent that removes a major hurdle from its aerial strategy: humans.
The technology behind the patent will allow Amazon’s drones to respond to a full range of gestures, from the frantic arm waving of a dive-bombed bystander to the satisfied thumbs up of a customer awaiting his/her package.
The drones would use cameras and sensors to recognize hand and body gestures, human voices and movement, and can deliver parcels by landing or releasing padded packages from the air, the patent shows.
