Alphabet, Google's parent company, has received permission from the U.S. Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) to begin testing its delivery drones in the United States. The decision is a major victory for Alphabet, which first released its Project Wing drones in 2014 and plans to begin commercial usage in 2017.
In terms of corporate shipping drones, Project Wing drones share more in common with DHL's drones than they do Amazon's. Both Wing and DHL have fixed-wing designs more like planes than copters, and Wing plans on flying up to 400 feet in the air, which is the distance the FAA just approved, and making deliveries.
Beyond a vague promo video released in 2014, neither Google, Alphabet, or X, Alphabet's experimental division, have given much explanation on how their drone delivery system will work. Based on recent patents, one can speculate that Alphabet's drones will work with "mobile delivery receptacles" that will be the drones' robotic partners on the ground. The drones could be guided to the receptacles, which would then drive the packages to their rightful owners. The FAA will allow Alphabet to test several aspects of their shipping plans, including carrying packages beyond the pilot's line-of-sight.
The approval was part of a major drones push delivered by the U.S. government, which is also spending over $35 million on drone research and testing over the next five years. The White House also announced $5 million to support development of a traffic management system for drones in upstate New York.
Source: The White House via Engadget
David Grossman is a staff writer for PopularMechanics.com. He's previously written for The Verge, Rolling Stone, The New Republic and several other publications. He's based out of Brooklyn.
