Amazon drones could get sirens to warn off children

Drones flying Londoners their deliveries in the future could be armed with counter-measures including a warning siren to shoo away children and pets

Amazon has invented a “virtual safety shroud” for its 50mph “airborne delivery system” to avert the danger of injury from rotating quadcopter blades. Designers are concerned that when one of the GPS-guided autonomous aerial vehicles (AAVs) lands to drop off a parcel, a curious child or animal could be injured or damage the drone.

Drones could be fitted with a “detect-and-avoid system” including an on-board sensor or HD camera, according to documents lodged with the European Patent Office.

This would “emit an audible tone” to warn off whatever is approaching, stop “dangerous and potentially harmful” propellers, or prompt an emergency manoeuvre to a safer spot. The patent gives the example of a drone landing in a back garden to deliver a parcel when an inquisitive dog approaches.

“As the AAV is landing and the dog enters the safety perimeter of one of the propellers, a safety profile is automatically performed so that the dog is not harmed,” the documents say. Another invention for the Prime Air service is a winch and pulley system allowing the drone to hover and reel down parcels for the recipient without the need for landing.

Amazon believes this could be safer and more energy-efficient than touching down. The system includes a “winch with a tether”, and a brace will stop the tiny rope swinging in wind and rain.

The patent says: “When the un-manned aerial vehicle is positioned in flight above the delivery zone, the tether and attached item may be ... lowered by the winch and the item released at the delivery zone.” Amazon, which does not comment on patent applications, is testing UK drone deliveries near its base in Cambridge. In the US yesterday it revealed plans for a beehive-like drone airport for launching and storing them.

Earlier this year Amazon proposed how a swarm of drones could be linked together in a single giant formation to move heavier delivery items over longer distance. Designs showed quadcopters connected by electromagnets on their frames, including a 24-drone “flying cube” more visible to aircraft.

Amazon’s existing drones can carry a payload of about 2.3kg for 10 miles.