Google subsidiary Wing shows delivery drones that make multiple deliveries per flight

Alphabet has provided a glimpse into the progress of its Wing subdivision. In limited tests, Wings drones do not always return to a central point, but do multiple pick-ups at companies and deliveries to customers, where necessary.

Wing says it will use the existing infrastructure for pickup by delivery drivers that stores and restaurants already have. In a video, Wing shows special collection points that have been set up for the drones. There, a prepared package is hung in a kind of mast, where the drone can pick it up. The idea is that the drone makes such deliveries several times and only returns to its central hub when it needs to be recharged. This system should provide more flexibility. Wing also claims to be able to quickly install additional charging stations in busy areas. It calls this entire platform the Wing Delivery Network.

Wing is testing the delivery system in the Australian city of Logan, where it delivers up to 1,000 packages per day, according to the BBC, among others. It is also being tested in a district of Dublin, Ireland and in Texas. Packages, mainly containing groceries, meals and coffee, are delivered there at no additional cost, but Wing does not indicate what the deliveries will ultimately cost.

It has been known for many years that Wing has been involved in drone deliveries. The system of not returning to a hub for the next delivery is new. Wing expects to further scale up this technology and “by mid-2024, be able to make millions of deliveries for millions of consumers with lower energy costs than ground transportation can achieve for fast delivery of small packages.” This year, Wing wants to further demonstrate its technology at ‘new locations worldwide’, but is not specifying this at the moment.

Amazon, a competitor in this area, among others, is also working on such technology. Since the end of last year, Amazon has started delivering orders by drone in the United States on a small scale. However, these all come from central locations of the company. The packages that Amazon transports by drone weigh a maximum of 2.2 kilos. Wing says to handle a maximum of 1.2 kilos.