Amazon patents talking drones

Online retailer Amazon has won a U.S. patent for drones that can emit and receive audio messages. The unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) will reportedly scan their surroundings during deliveries, detecting and noting any damaged or dangerous infrastructure below, in order to notify the owners.

For example, a drone might be on its way to deliver diapers when (using sensors) it notices someone rudely standing in the designated drop-off zone. It "may produce speech in order to warn or instruct the object," according to the patent.

The drone would not only advise people to keep a safe distance from the dropzone, but could also take instructions from the intended parcel receiver about alternative delivery destinations. The drone and the parcel receiver might also exchange "information regarding other existing orders, information regarding new orders, etc."

"The speech may comprise a request the person to perform an action such as reporting the location of the UAV, moving the UAV to a safe location, retrieving the UAV and delivering it to a control center or operations base, taking the UAV to a charging location, etc.," the document said.

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