Amazon’s has won approval from federal officials this month for a patent for a drone-based “home surveillance” service as part of its drone delivery programme.
The patent papers outline a vision where Amazon customers order drones to hover around a home and scan for things such as a garage door left open, a broken window, graffiti or a fire. A customer can have a package delivered by drone and then instruct the unmanned aerial vehicle to conduct a “surveillance action” – if there is an anomaly a text message or telephone call can be sent to the homeowner or to local authorities.
“An alert may be provided to multiple recipients, such as a service provider (such as a security provider), an operator, a user, or a municipal entity such [as] a police or fire department,” the patent materials say.
