Amazon granted patent for self-destructing drones Amazon is still working on its delivery drones, and their most recent patent attempts to protect people from falling drones in the event of a malfunction or emergency. The patent describes technology to break up the drone into smaller pieces so that it hits the ground more safely than a single, heavy object. Onboard devices would analyze the flight pattern of the drone and attempt to crash land the parts in areas where they would do the least damage to people, for example in a tree instead of on the street.



To me, an explosive fragmentation of a drone seems risky, first because you'd need to put explosives on drones, and second because breaking into multiple fragments could increase the possibility of getting hit by a falling piece, even if it is smaller.



Anyway, what about the package that the drone carries? A past patent described a parachute system for dropping off packages instead of landing. Perhaps that system could be used in an emergency scenario as well. Until Amazon fleshes out these details, they'll have a hard time convincing U.S. authorities to give them the green light.