An IBM Patent on Midair Handoffs for Delivery Drones

IBM's patent proposes a novel method for delivery drones midair transfer to extend their delivery range significantly.

The IBM invention described in US Patent No. 9,561,852: In flight transfer of packages between delivery drones helps to extend the range of drones that are delivering packages from a warehouse to a customer's home. Credit: IBM Amazon and Google's dreams of delivery drones dropping off packages or pizza still face the problem of short delivery ranges. Most drones have limited battery life that restricts their services to less than a 10-mile delivery radius. A recently-approved IBM patent offers an unusual way to extend delivery ranges by having drones transfer packages in midair. The IBM patent envisions several possible ways for delivery drones to hand off their packages without having to land. One idea would have the drones—flying side by side—each use an arm to link up in midair and pass along the package that hangs from the arms via a strap. Imagine a purse hanging from a pole and ...