Walmart Patents Flying Warehouses

One of the biggest things right now standing between us and truly mobile commerce—the ability to order and pay for most anything from most anywhere—is a set of rules concocted by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) back in the Obama administration.

Under those rules, it’s pretty much impossible to use drone delivery unless the drone is in constant sight. Since it looks like the Trump administration won’t be tackling the produce of the FAA any time soon, Walmart has a new plan in mind: keep the drones in sight by moving the warehouses constantly.

That’s right; Walmart has filed patents for what amounts to a flying warehouse. Rather, a floating warehouse; using technology similar to the dirigibles of the early 20th century, Walmart warehouses will eventually fly about 1,000 feet above the Earth, and the entire warehouse will move to the needed position. Drones, meanwhile, will descend from the warehouses—in full view of the warehouse’s pilot—and drop off the goods, returning to the flying warehouses to restock.

Such a move would not only give Walmart a broader distribution capability—ground-based warehouses are pretty much limited by driving distance—but there’s also a great potential here for Walmart to cut costs. A ground-based warehouse is subject to property taxes. A flying warehouse would not be. It’s even conceivable that such flying warehouses could dock on the roof of one large warehouse at night, located in a tax-advantageous spot, for refueling and the like.

It’s an excellent if somewhat outlandish idea; since the FAA’s tied everyone’s hands about sending drones any distance from a ground-based warehouse, perhaps the solution for such an environment is to use a highly-mobile warehouse that can keep drones in sight for much farther. It’s likely not the solution many of us hoped for—forget about local restaurant delivery by drone if this is the case—but it certainly works as a way to get stuff from Walmart faster than ever.

Such a plan also moves the FAA regulations into sharper relief; when only retailers who can afford blimps for drone delivery can compete, it might be the opening smaller retailers need to get the rules changed. So when will we see drone delivery come around en masse? It’s not clear yet, but the good news is, it seems to be heading that way.