Wing, a subsidiary operation of Google’s Alphabet, has successfully completed their first drone delivery of packages in the US and Australia.
Christiansburg, a small town in Virginia, was chosen as the test location for Wing’s drone delivery service. Wing already operates in two Australian cities as well as Helsinki. Wing’s drone service allows the town’s 22,000 residents to order anything normally shipped by FedEx, in addition to medicine from Walgreens and candy from a local business.
The inaugural delivery included Tylenol, cough drops, Vitamin C tablets, bottled water and tissues for a local family as well as a birthday gift ordered by an older resident.
According to Wing, the drone-powered deliveries in Christiansburg pave the way for ‘the most advanced drone delivery service in the nation’.
Wing’s drone service uses yellow and white drones for the last mile delivery. The drones are loaded with packages – each weighing up to 1.3 kilograms – by Wing staff, and delivered within a 10-kilometre radius.
On arrival at the destination, the drones hover above the house and lower the package using a cable.
