Amazon’s delivery drones could parachute packages to avoid landing

The company still needs to work out the best way to approach densely populated urban areas safely

The drones could use magnets, parachutes or spring coils to release packages mid-flight

Amazon is toying with the idea of equipping its autonomous delivery drones with parachutes.

The idea is that they would enable the flying contraptions to float packages down to the ground in situations where landing could prove tricky.

The potential plans are outlined in a new US Patent and Trademark office patent spotted by CNN.

Amazon has already successfully tested drone deliveries in Cambridge, but the company still needs to work out the best way to approach densely populated urban areas safely.

Landing a drone takes more time and energy than keeping it in the air, according to the patent, which suggests that the drones could use magnets, parachutes or spring coils to release packages mid-flight.

What’s more, they could also monitor the packages as they fall to ensure they land in the right place, and radio a message to a parcel that’s veered off-course, perhaps due to wind, “instructing it to deploy a parachute, compressed air canister or landing flap”.

An ad at the most recent Super Bowl promised Amazon drone deliveries “soon”, but the company has a lot of work to do before the machines are granted permission to patrol our skies.