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Ford patent depicts drones jump-starting cars with flat batteries

Ford drones battery

Drones are being used to inspect structures, deliver lunches, shuttle transplant organs, rush defibrillators to cardiac victims, and capture incredible first-person footage to thrill and entertain. Now the Ford Motor Company is looking to expand that list of UAV applications by cutting the waiting time for drivers with flat car batteries needing a jump start.

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Amazon delivery drones to spy on your home, patent shows

Amazon delivery drones might be used to spy on your home. An Amazon patent filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office on June 12, 2015, and granted June 4 of this year, indicates that the e-commerce giant is planning to use its network of drones to form a neighborhood watch system and keep an eye on your home. The company calls it “surveillance as a service” and it would have its delivery drones record footage of your home when they are out delivering packages.


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DJI files more drone patents than Walmart and Amazon combined

As Walmart and Amazon are battling it out for supremacy in the fast-changing retail world, Walmart is on track to file more drone patents than Amazon for the second year in a row. According to research by the accounting firm BDO Walmart has filed 97 new drone applications with the World Intellectual Property Organization since July 2018. In the year before, Walmart applied for 57 patents compared to Amazon’s 54, according to an article in the Financial Times. More interestingly though, if you look at the 2017/18 time frame, DJI filed more drone patents that Walmart and Amazon combined.
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Amazon receives patent for delivery drone that reacts to screaming voices and flailing arms

Amazon delivery drone can interact with people waving their arms

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a patent to Amazon for a delivery drone that responds to human gestures, such as flailing arms as well as screaming voices. The patent includes several interesting illustrations. In one, a person is shown outside their house waving his arms in an “unwelcoming manner” accompanied with a voice bubble, indicating that the drone would be able to hear the person and possibly respond to the input.


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Amazon receives patent to literally ‘drop’ packages from a drone on your doorstep or patio

Drone delivery is a hot topic this week. Last Tuesday, Amazon received yet another patent that may help to make a more efficient and greener way to deliver packages, a reality sooner than you think. This latest patent protects a method to literally ‘drop’ packages from as high as 25 feet on your doorstep or patio. The packages and their contents would be protected by an airbag.


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New patent shows LG Electronics may be about to launch a drone

New patent shows LG Electronics may be about to launch a drone

Is Korean-based, LG Electronics going to get involved in the drone industry? That is a question that has been on people’s minds for some time now. LG is a very competitive electronics giant and has been expanding in the automotive and VR space. Recently they partnered with Huawei to deliver 1.5Gbps connectivity to customers from 300 feet altitude using a drone. And now with this new patent, that was made public on December 14, 2017, it seems that LG is getting serious about the drones.


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Self-destructing delivery drone patented by Amazon

On November 28th, Amazon was granted a patent for the “directed fragmentation of an unmanned aerial vehicle” or a self-destructing delivery drone. Oftentimes patents are simply filed to claim and protect a certain idea. The actual invention may never be developed or built at all. That may apply to this patent filing for a self-destructing delivery drone from Amazon as well.


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