Alphabet's drone delivery service Wing has made 'thousands' of deliveries in Australia.
Wing is a subsidiary of Google’s parent company Alphabet and
launched in Canberra in 2019. Many people have been using the service over the past few months as the
coronavirus pandemic continues. Wing found the use of its service has risen
500% between February and April, in Australia. “We saw the number of deliveries double from February to March, then again from March to April, including thousands of deliveries in Australia,” said
Maria Catanzariti Wing Communications Lead.
Wing has delivery sites in Canberra, Logan, Queensland, Virginia in the USA, and Helsinki in Finland. And has received around
350% increase month on month in sign-ups to its service around the world. In Australia, Wing delivers items from 24 businesses – 16 in Canberra and 8 in Logan. These include retailers such as Wokitup! Kickstart Expresso and Sushi Hub. in Canberra it works across the suburbs of Crace, Palmerston, Harrison, and Franklin in the Gungahlin community. While in South East Queensland, it operates across the suburbs of Crestmead and Marsden in Logan.
Some of the most popular items delivered by drone include coffee, fresh bread, and household groceries like milk, eggs, and toilet paper – as well as hot roast chickens and sushi.
How does it work? Deliveries are made via the
Wing app. Once you place an order, a drone picks up the package at Wing’s delivery facility then – at its flight altitude – it heads to its destination. Once it gets to the destination, the drone slows down, hovers, and drops to seven meters above the ground. It then lowers the package to the ground by a tether and releases it in the selected delivery area – usually a front yard or back yard. The drone does not land and there is no need for you to unclip it or help with the delivery. When it is done, it just goes back to its cruise height and returns to Wing’s site.
The drones have a wingspan of 1 metre, weigh roughly 4.8 kg and can carry packages of around 1.5 kg. They can reach speeds of up to 113 km/h (60 knots) and their fastest delivery time to date has been 2 mins and 47 seconds.