Future is closer than most will believe. Drone delivery is yet another example.
Imagined Reality
A few days ago (around April Fools’ Day), a FAKE video (by rendering) populated on Twitter, presenting an Amazon mothership equipped with drones.
However, this may not be far away from what the future will look like, especially for the drone part.
Amazon’s Plan
The idea could be seen in an Amazon patent US000009305280B120160405 filed in December 2014 and issued by the USPTO in April 2016.
This is part of Amazon Prime Air program first announced in 2013. It looks more viable on the drone-only side, the first delivery made in December 2016 in Cambridge, UK.
First-ever #AmazonPrimeAir customer delivery is in the books. 13 min—click to delivery. Check out the video: https://t.co/Xl8HiQMA1S pic.twitter.com/5HGsmHvPlE
— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) December 14, 2016
And in 2017, an Amazon Prime Air drone dropped off some bottles of sunscreen for attendees at the company’s invite-only MARS conference in California. [The Verge]
US Pilot Programs Granted
In the US, FAA has selected 10 state, local and tribal governments for pilot programs in drone testing in May 2018. [More about the program]
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- Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Durant, OK
- City of San Diego, CA
- Innovation and Entrepreneurship Investment Authority, Herndon, VA
- Kansas Department of Transportation, Topeka, KS
- Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority, Memphis, TN
- North Carolina Department of Transportation, Raleigh, NC
- North Dakota Department of Transportation, Bismarck, ND
- The City of Reno, NV
- University of Alaska-Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK
Alphabet’s Wing in Australia – First to Commercial
Another exciting move is made by Alphabet’s Wing on Tuesday, which was granted approval in Canberra by Australian aviation authority CASA. Wing officially becomes world’s first drone delivery business according to The Guardian.
The deliveries will start with roughly 100 homes in the Canberra area. The drones are required to operate during daylight hours, banned from crossing over major roads and there’s a minimum distance they have to maintain from people on the ground.
Meanwhile, according to Wing’s website, they are going to launch the drone delivery service in Finland in spring of 2019, which will be their first operations in Europe.
Before this approval, in September 2016 at Virginia Tech, Wing (a Google X project then) has tested food delivery (Chipotle burritos) in the US for a tenth of a mile, maintaining the kind of line-of-sight flights that the FAA prefers (before any pilot programs). Virginia Tech is home to a U.S. FAA test site.
Wing made its first test in 2014 in Queensland, Australia, delivering a first aid kit, candy bars, dog treats and water to farmers.
Wing graduated from Google X in July 2018.
JD’s Drone in Asia
Earlier this year, JD.com announced that it has completed the first government approved drone flight in Indonesia, delivering backpacks and books to students in a local elementary school.
In China, JD has been approved for drone delivery services in provinces including Shanxi, Jiangsu, Qinghai, Guangdong, Hainan and Guangxi.