The idea is ambitious, to say the least, but there is a practical roadmap for making it a reality. A 30-foot prototype is poised to fly near San Francisco this summer. If that goes well, the next steps are finishing a full-scale prototype (due in 2020) and taking customers.

The main obstacle? Funding. As Fast Company explains, Natilus is currently a tiny company with three regular employees and under $1 million to its name. It's going to need a lot of interest from investors to make its drones a reality. Thankfully, that might not be too hard. If the project works as planned, it could cut overseas shipping times down to less than a day without leading to absurd costs. You'd be more likely to get your online orders quickly, and it would be more practical to ship time-sensitive products like food.