Amazon One Step Closer to Drone Delivery With U.S. Patent

Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN received a patent for its drone-delivery technology, which the company has dubbed Amazon Prime Air. The company first previewed the technology in a 60 Minutes segment in December 2013 and submitted the patent in September 2014.

This year, the Federal Aviation Authority gave Amazon approval for limited tests in the sight of a pilot. Internationally, Amazon is testing the idea in Canada and the United Kingdom, where it has a development center. The patent covers how "the unmanned aircraft would talk to each other, share weather information and get packages to homes and businesses safely," according to Ars Technica.

According to the patent, Amazon drones may connect to mobile devices to deliver packages directly to a location, instead of an address. The drones, which will vary in size and type depending on the package, would use a "range of sensors" that include cameras and infrared light to find safe landing areas.

The FAA has recently granted approval for tests of unmanned helicopters in farming and drones in journalism.

Amazon stock is not reacting to this news. Shares are flat in premarket trading near Friday's closing price of $433.69. The stock has gained nearly 40 percent this year following two consecutive earnings reports that beat Wall Street expectations.