Walmart-Amazon Battle of the Blimps (AMZN; WMT)

We've looked at a half-dozen Amazon patents over the last year but this is the first time we've had one from WMT.

From Übergizmo: 

Walmart Patents A Floating Blimp Warehouse

Amazon isn’t the only retailer that’s looking into drone delivery. Walmart appears to be working on a similar concept but its solution might be a bit different compared to Amazon’s. Walmart has filed for a US patent for a floating blimp warehouse which will make delivers via drones. The idea is to have a floating warehouse up in the sky from where Walmart can instantly ship products to customers using drones.

According to the patent filing, the blimp-style floating warehouse would fly at heights between 500 and 1,000 feet. It will have multiple launch bays for sending drone deliveries. The blimp itself will either fly autonomously or be remotely controlled by a human pilot.

This solution could help Walmart lower the cost of fulfilling online orders, cutting down on “last mile” costs to a customer’s house which is normally handled by a logistics company...MORE.

From our Aug. 6 AMZN patent roundup:
"Amazon Wants to Build a Network of Mobile Drone Maintenance and Delivery Platforms" (AMZN)

...I do like the steampunk-retro Montgolfier Bros/Henri Giffard stylings of the the Amazon airships:

And one we missed.
Another Amazon Patent: Shipping Label With Built-in Parachute