Democratic Primaries
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The automation of million of jobs inches closer.
Alphabet's Wing Begins First Commercial Drone Delivery Service in U.S., Beating Amazon, Uber
Newsweek: Wing, an offshoot of Google parent company Alphabet, officially launched its drone delivery service Friday, delivering a FedEx packagea birthday gift for Susie Sensmeier from her husband, Paulthrough the air from a distribution center to the couple's home in Christiansburg, Virginia, according to the company's blog.
Wing was the first company to receive Federal Aviation Authority approval for door-to-door drone delivery, Business Wire reported Friday, beating Amazon's Prime Air, which is awaiting the "regulatory support needed to safely realize our vision," and Uber Eats' drone delivery program to market. The meal delivery service launched a test program in San Diego over the summer in partnership with McDonald's, but that project only uses drones for a portion of the delivery process, depositing packages at a drop-off point for collection and final distribution by a delivery person.
While "Uber is focusing on drone delivery in dense, urban environments" according to TechCrunch, Wing decided to launch its pilot program in small-town Christiansburg. Snuggled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains with a population of 22,000, Christiansburg describes itself as a "tight-knit community." Without high-rises or other obstructions, Wing's drones can fly from their "Nest" in North Christiansburg, pick up parcels from local retailers, and deposit them at the doorsteps of qualifying homes.
Along with FedEx, Wing will also deliver packages from Walgreens and local boutique Sugar Magnolia.
In a statement to Newsweek, Tom Raub, co-owner of Sugar Magnolia expressed delight at watching his products break new commercial ground. "We were at [the customers'] home when they ordered our products and watched with great excitement as the drone delivered their order about eight minutes later," he wrote.
https://www.newsweek.com/wing-drone-first-commercial-delivery-1466471
primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
Sherman A1
(38,958 posts)Thanks for posting!
primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
redqueen
(115,096 posts)I see so many people saying this stuff won't happen for a long time.
It's happening now.
primary today, I would vote for: Undecided