Amazon's drone deliveries could include shipping label parachutes

It's hard to believe it's been almost three years since Amazon announced its plan to deliver packages via drone. The first air delivery occurred last December in the UK and the retailer continues to refine the concept with futuristic ideas to perch the flying couriers on streetlights and deploy them from flying warehouses. In a new patent discovered by GeekWire, Amazon's next step is an "Aerial Package Delivery System," a delivery label that includes one of those parachutes that could make shipping via an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that much easier. The patent documents describe a simple workflow for delivery via drone parachute. The images show the steps, which include "Pack item, attach parachute shipping label," "Attach to UAV" and then "Drop at delivery location."