Alphabet company Wing is allowed to deliver packages with drones in Australia
The company Wing is now allowed to deliver packages with drones in the Australian capital Canberra. The Australian aviation authority Casa has given permission for this. Wing is an independent company within Alphabet, the parent company of Google.
Wing has extensively tested its drone delivery service over the past 18 months. During that period, packages containing food, drinks, medicines and locally produced coffee and chocolate were delivered. On Tuesday, Wing officially received the green light from the Australian aviation authority Casa for the delivery service with drones.
“The Wing’s traffic management system, maintenance, pilot training and operational plans have been thoroughly examined,” a Casa spokesperson told Guardian Australia newspaper. “All possible security risks have been analysed, with the conclusion that there is no danger to people on the ground, buildings or aircraft in the airspace.”
However, strict rules have been drawn up that Wing must adhere to. Delivery is only allowed during the day, the drones are not allowed to fly over important roads and they must respect a minimum distance from people on the ground. During the testing period, there were some complaints from local residents about noise pollution, according to Guardian Australia. The aviation organization says it has taken this into account in the approval process.
The Wing drones are expected to deliver the first packages in the Northern Canberra district within a few weeks. First it is about a hundred homes in the Crace, Palmerston and Franklin neighborhoods, followed later by Harrison and Gungahlin. Wing expects that the drone delivery service, once it is running at full speed, will generate an annual turnover of thirty to forty million Australian dollars, which is about 19 to 25 million euros.
The Wing company originated from Google X, the testing ground of Google parent company Alphabet, which investigates which projects can lead to independent companies. Wing was transferred to an independent company in July 2018 that will continue to fall under Alphabet.