With each day comes pretty neat ideas from some of the
brightest minds in the world-and some of the richest. Late last month, Amazon was granted a US patent for a drone
docking stations on standalone
structures to include streetlights.
While the patent mentions these drone home bases on top of buildings and
pylons, the linking to a street light is the most interesting.
Amazon has been working on this effort of awhile. News
stories across the news networks, print and the internet highlighted the drone
plans of the 29th Ranked Company on the Fortune 500. Believe it or not, most of
the effort seemed like a great sci-fi novel.
It is reported that Amazon hopes that the docking stations will act both
as package handling facilities and as a final destination where drones are able
to recharge and refuel. The drone docking stations would incorporate solar
panels, security cameras, and even Wi-Fi.
The development of the streetlight safe havens in theory
means that drones would be able to continuously hop from drop off point to drop
off point, opening up, potentially, whole villages to the Amazon drone service.
It is also hoped that the docking stations will be able to
offer navigational assistance, helping to guide the craft to the location of
their drop-off.
The imagery is something straight from the 1960's cartoon
"The Jetsons". Millennials may need to consult the World Wide Web for
that reference.
We should not get too excited here in the Western Pacific.
It
is important to note that the filing of the patent does not necessarily mean
that the docking stations will get built, but it does allow us to see how
Amazon is preparing for their future drone revolution, whenever it arrives
This street light drone docking is as much the future as is
Intelligent street lighting,. Also referred to as adaptive street lighting, the
lighting on our roadways and walkways will dim when no activity is detected,
but brightens when movement is detected. Devised in Europe, this type of
lighting is different from traditional, stationary illumination, or dimmable
street lighting that dims at pre-determined times.
If these two product ideas take
off, literally and figuratively, we will be looking for George Jetson and his
boy Elroy for a tutorial.
To learn more about
the lighting products that GET, LLC provides, including the LED lines of our
partners, Independence LED Lighting and Deco Lighting Inc., please check out
our website at www.get-guam.com or call us to discuss solutions for your
important lighting needs-All Made in America!!!