Amazon designs self-destructing drones that split apart to avoid falling into crowds

Designs of Amazon's self-destructing drones. Image / Amazon

Amazon has revealed potential plans for delivery drones that can break apart and fall to safe spots like trees and ponds in the event of a mid-air malfunction.

The retail giant made its first drone delivery to a home in Cambridge in December 2016, and has since been trialling the parcel drop method.

It hopes drones will form part of its Amazon Prime subscription, dropping small packages to a customer's doorstep within hours of purchase, the Telegraph reports.

But the major obstacle of ensuring the safety of pedestrians, drivers and buildings in built-up areas as its drones soar through the sky has proven tricky to overcome.

This week it was granted a patent for a system that takes control of a vehicle in the event of a catastrophic failure.

Once a customer places an order and a drone leaves a "fulfilment centre" with the item, the computer system will start monitoring for safe spots to land - like lakes, forested areas and open fields - in case it needs to make an emergency drop.

If a glitch does occur, the system will force the drone to split into pieces and descend, separately, to one of these safe spots.

An illustration attached to the patent filing granted demonstrates how a drone headed for a city would dismantle itself, scattering the pieces across a park.

First the package due to be delivered is dropped into a tree. The rotor drops on to a clear area on the grass, followed by the drone computer which then drops into the park. Finally, the remaining shell of the drone drops into the pond.

"The use of UAVs is accompanied by the need for new solutions to various problems such as service disruptions due to unsuitable weather conditions, equipment malfunctions and other problems."

Most Amazon customers receive their Amazon packages by van delivery, but the marketplace hopes to convince shoppers to opt for its super-speedy drone service in the future.

It has already began kitting out secretive warehouses and fulfilment centres that are located in areas close enough to fly drones to customers.

The vehicles, which can travel for 10 miles or 30 minutes, face potential problems in urban areas, where there are more hazards and it is more difficult to find warehouse space.

To counteract this it has designed blimp-shaped floating warehouses that sit thousands of feet in the air, from which it could dispatch swarms of delivery drones to metropolitan areas.

Another novel patent filing includes plans to create nine-storey beehive-like depots.