Reliable Drone Delivery Service Hits Milestone
If this is the first time you’ve heard of drones delivering coffees and burritos to your desk, well, welcome to the future! Recently, Alphabet’s drone delivery service Wing hit its 100,000th delivery. When I worked at Google in 2015, this program was already underway.Â
Wingin' It
Today, Wing operates in the United States, Australia, and Finland. The most successful location is Logan, Australia – a suburb in Brisbane that has noted more than 50,000 deliveries. Further, not only can you order coffee and food, but also you can order groceries, cakes, sportswear, and more!Â
Though their average delivery time is around 10 minutes, Wing’s current fastest delivery record is 2:47 from order to arrival.
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Where's Amazon in This?
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With such an enticing service name, how could big brother Amazon turn down competing alongside Alphabet by launching their very own drone program in the UK? Unfortunately, they didn’t share the same success rate as Wing as the drones struggled to physically land on the ground (as opposed to using a tether to deliver the goods as Wing uses).
In Conclusion
While drone delivery had a promising, successful start, it seems that it might not take off globally. In fact, with location requirements such as, “small areas without overhanging trees, power lines, or other obstacles, typically in the front yard, backyard, or driveway,” a lot of cities are immediately eliminated.
However, all is not lost for those wanting a more eco-friendly delivery method as I can personally testify that e-bikes, mopeds, and scooters are frequently used in Florence, Rome, and other cities in Italy. In fact, Florence might be a prime spot for Wing should they wish to expand there. Only time will tell!
Resources & Further Reading
Vincent, J. (2021, August 25). Alphabet’s drone delivery service WING HITS 100,000 DELIVERIES MILESTONE. The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2021/8/25/22640833/drone-delivery-google-alphabet-wing-milestone.
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