{"id":163357,"date":"2019-09-20T16:55:28","date_gmt":"2019-09-20T08:55:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.geek.com\/featured\/-1804683\/"},"modified":"2019-09-20T16:55:28","modified_gmt":"2019-09-20T08:55:28","slug":"google-wing-drone-deliveries-coming-soon-to-virginia-suburb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itteacheritfreelance.hk\/test\/wordpress\/2019\/09\/20\/google-wing-drone-deliveries-coming-soon-to-virginia-suburb\/","title":{"rendered":"Google Wing Drone Deliveries Coming Soon to Virginia Suburb"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Google’s Wing unveils plans for a first-of-its-kind trial with FedEx and Walgreens (via Wing)<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Alphabet’s Wing drone delivery service is taking off in the US.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Google subsidiary is launching a pilot program this fall in Christiansburg, Va.<\/span><\/p>\n

Starting next month, residents of the New River Valley region in Southwest Virginia can collect parcels from FedEx Express, Walgreens, and local retailer Sugar Magnolia via unmanned aerial vehicles.<\/span><\/p>\n

The trial, according to a company blog post<\/a>, will “demonstrate the benefits of drone delivery by improving access to healthcare products, creating new avenues of growth for local businesses, and exploring ways to enhance efficiency of last-mile delivery service.”<\/span><\/p>\n

In April, Wing became the first drone operator to receive air carrier certification<\/a> from the Federal Aviation Administration. Now it’s gearing up for the most advanced drone delivery trial in the US to date.<\/span><\/p>\n

This fall’s practice runs will be conducted as part of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Unmanned Aircraft System Integration Pilot Program.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Wing designed customized boxes for its delivery drones to transport goods (via Wing)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

While the drones can fly autonomously, Wing will have certified pilots on the ground, ready to take control if necessary.<\/span><\/p>\n

The aircraft\u2014tested more than 80,000 times\u2014are also built with redundancies like backup batteries, multiple hover motors, and various navigation systems.<\/span><\/p>\n

Customized boxes will be used to transport deliveries\u2014from over-the-counter medicine to packaged presents to last-minute party supplies\u2014directly to recipients’ homes.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2016, New River Valley played host to the then-largest drone delivery demonstration in the United States: Wing and Virginia Tech distributed hundreds of Chipotle orders to university staff and students.<\/span><\/p>\n

Christiansburg was selected as the pilot location in part due to Wing’s ongoing partnership with VT’s Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership, located nearly Blacksburg.<\/span><\/p>\n

Local residents can sign up online<\/a> to join the Early Flyer waitlist and be among the first to know when (and where) Wing drones deliver.<\/span><\/p>\n

More on Geek.com:<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n