Delivery By Drone

Alphabet’s Wing is the fi rst FAA-approved drone air carrier

- DAVID DALY

There is little doubt that the future of drones includes uncrewed aircraft delivery services. From online ordering to life-saving medications, our skies will soon teem with drones. Several of the world’s leading companies have been in a race against each other to be the first to provide a drone delivery service. Over the last few years, giants such as Google, Amazon, UPS, and Uber have poured enormous resources into the dream that is drone delivery.

The potential benefits of delivering goods through drones are enormous. Speed of delivery, accessibility, and environmental impact are just a few of the areas likely to see gains. According to an economic study released by the New York-based research firm AlphaBeta, drone delivery has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 99 percent when compared to cars and trucks. If you are keeping up with current events, you have likely heard that Wing, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc. (now the parent company of Google) launched the first successful commercial drone delivery. On October 18, 2019, Wing delivered a FedEx package containing a birthday gift to a home in Christiansburg, Virginia. That flight was the first FAA-approved door-to-door drone delivery in United States history. To accomplish this feat, Wing partnered with Walgreens and Virginia Polytechnic Institute.