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.

One of the world's largest package delivery companies is stepping up efforts to integrate drones into its system. UPS has partnered with robot-maker CyPhy Works to test the use of drones to make commercial deliveries to remote or difficult-to-access locations. The companies began testing the drones on Thursday, when they launched one from the seaside town of Marblehead. The drone flew on a programmed route for 3 miles over the Atlantic Ocean to deliver an inhaler at Children's Island. The successful landing was greeted by jubilant shouts from CyPhy Works and UPS employees on the island to witness the test. "I thought it was fantastic," said John Dodero, UPS vice president for industrial engineering.

Newly revised federal aviation regulations don't permit commercial drones to fly over people not involved in their operations and require them to remain within line of sight of their operators, effectively rendering commercial deliveries impossible. Drone-makers are working with regulators to tweak existing rules.