This won’t be the first time that we have heard of a bizarre idea coming from Amazon, but the company has just filed a patent for an insane underwater storage center, the packages in which will be called by acoustic sounds.
The patent labels the idea as an “aquatic fulfillment center” that will store goods at the bottom of the lakes and other water bodies. The waterproof containers holding the goods will be dropped into the water using a parachute, and they would sink to different levels under the water depending on their density. To bring these packages back to the surface, acoustic tones or pulses will be used that will change the density of the said packages.
The density of the package will be varied by changing the charge of the air inside, similar to how air is ionized by lightning. Another way to do the same would be to add or remove fluid from a flexible bladder using control valves and change the volume.
Another idea to bring the packages back to the surface will be the use of balloons when the packages are ready for distribution. Amazon is already working on their delivery drones, and they have also proposed the idea of an airship. All of this could come together to form a complete delivery system with minimal human involvement.
The idea of putting the packages under water may even sound stupid to some, but Amazon has a good reason for it. Since the existing ground based fulfillment centers “include increasingly large and complex facilities having expansive capabilities and high-technology accommodations for items, and feature storage areas as large as one million square feet or more.”
Building an aquatic center will put the vertical space to a more efficient use while minimizing the walks for the staff. The patent mentions that the staff has to walk miles inside the warehouses to retrieve the items and the automated aquatic system will eliminate that need.
Before you get excited or enraged over the absurdity of this idea, you should remember that large companies have been known to secure patents like these that are never put to any good use. This one looks like another addition to that same list but what do we know. Maybe a drone will soon fetch your orders from a underwater store and deliver them right to your door steps.