As non-essential stores across the United States of America and much of the rest of the world temporarily shut down in the wake of the coronavirus, purchases from online retailers are expected to skyrocket. When people are stuck in their homes for extended periods of times, shopping can be a welcome distraction. Websites like Amazon will be getting flooded with orders. Earlier this month lawyers for TC Buffalo Development out of New York filled a proposal for a large development in Grand Island, NY. Though there has been no confirmation, rumors have spread that the proposal is to build a new Amazon warehouse. If this is the case, it would mean a great deal of job employment opportunities for people in the area, as well as greater access for customers to rapidly receive products.

While the public is still waiting to hear if a new warehouse will be coming to Grand Island, the nearby town of Amherst, NY is considering making way for drone deliveries by Amazon. Amherst is considering purchasing a new network of street lamps from National Grid that could be used as delivery drone charging stations, an idea that Amazon introduced when they first began toying with the possibility of drone deliveries. One of the biggest issues facing drone deliveries is that drones can only be airborne for short periods of time.

A drone’s battery must be proportional to the drone’s size. Small drones that are used in commercial enterprises, like those that would make deliveries, can only support a small battery. These batteries give a drone a flight time of around 20 minutes on average. For a delivery system to be effective a drone would most likely need a longer flight time. Amazon was faced with the question of how to enable their drones to stay airborne long enough to get from a warehouse to a point of delivery. One idea was to have drones dispatched from a centralized delivery vehicle, but this just wasn’t a good enough option in their opinion.

In 2016, Amazon was awarded a patent on the concept of creating drone perching stations on street lamps that could be used as charging stations. As a drone’s battery wears down, it could go to a docking station to recharge. At this point it could even pass on its package to a waiting drone to complete the delivery as its battery charges. The perches, which are covered, could also serve as a spot for a drone to wait out sudden inclement weather. As outlined in the patent description, “The docking stations can be networked with a central control and a plurality of UAVs. The docking stations can include a number of services to facilitate both UAV guidance and maintenance and community acceptance and benefits. The docking stations can include package handling facilities and can act as a final destination or as a delivery hub. The docking stations can extend the range of UAVs by providing recharging/refueling stations for the UABs. The docking stations can also include navigational aid to guide the UAVs to the docking stations and to provide routing information from the central control. The docking stations can be incorporated into existing structures such as cell towers, light and power poles and buildings. The docking stations can also comprise standalone structures to provide additional services to underserved areas.”

These docking stations could clearly go a long way to enable drones with short flight times to complete deliveries over vast regions. If Amherst were to go ahead with lamp post drone charging stations it could mean a great boost to the town’s economy. The town could charge Amazon for the power needed to charge the drones, while providing it’s citizens with new state of the art, eco-friendly illumination. Not to mention, the residents of Amherst could be one of the first in the nation to benefit from Amazon’s long anticipated drone delivery system.

Already similar concepts can be found all over the country. Throughout most of Manhattan, lamp posts have been converted into charging stations for cellphones, computers, and other devices. And, it’s not just lamp posts being used as charging centers; benches, tables, and even trash receptacles will often be found with charging outlets in them. As for drones, the patent developed by Amazon does not restrict the charging perches to lamp posts. The roof of a building could just as easily be equipped with a wide amount of drone perches. As of yet though, there aren’t any of these charging centers for delivery drones. If Amherst decides to proceed with the new lamp posts, they could be paving the way for other communities to welcome drone delivery capabilities and a new type of drone services in the USA.