Amazon planning to use drones to drop parcels by parachute

The bizarre patents of Amazon's drone programme keep on coming. Hot on the heels of the company's proposal for a floating airship warehouse, it has now filed a patent for parachute-aided delivery of packages. In the future, if the patent is implemented, Amazon's delivery drones may not even need to land on your enormous lawn to deliver your parcels. Instead, the drone will simply release parcels from on high, deploying parachutes to slow their descent and ensure the valuables inside remain intact. Of course, normal parachutes would bring their own problems – a strong gust of wind, and your Blu-Ray box set ends up on the roof – so a second aspect of the patent contains the real innovation.