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Airborne courier drone carrier

A platform operates a rare untethered buoyant carrier for small courier drones. Its short rounded single body is a little smaller than half a city bus, with a light engineered frame, propulsion and service hardware. An even field of inset hexagonal hatches covers the main body. Every hatch has the same opening mechanism; each drone enters and leaves its own ordinary hex, with clear approaches on the sides and underside. Occupied hexes show dim warm amber indicators formed by six central tips. Empty centers stay dark. One small matte dark housing projects shallowly beneath the forward hull, leaving the bays clear. Its compact face groups visibly different sensor types in an irregular grid. The platform keeps the logs; a failed latch, propulsion fault or unsuitable conditions ground the carrier. Ordinary police drones still launch from station and patrol-car roofs. See The platform, Drones, Batteries and Sensors.