If drone delivery is going to become widespread, larger planes that can handle more things will be needed. Today, Alphabet's Wing unveiled the first in a new line of larger drones with more payload capacity.
Wing's flagship drone is designed to handle payloads of up to 2.5 pounds. The new drone can support up to five pounds without sacrificing range. The company says it has enough battery to complete a 12-mile round trip while cruising at up to 65 mph.
“Our vision has always been to implement a multi-modal delivery model with drones, in the same way that ground delivery uses different sizes of vehicles for different orders,” Wing CEO Adam Woodworth said in a blog post.
“Our vision has always been to implement a multimodal delivery model with drones”
By deploying larger drones capable of carrying more things, Wing says its customers can order more items, making its service more useful and convenient. The new drone will be deployed in the communities where Wing operates within the next 12 months, the company says.
The idea of bundling orders is based on the data Wing collects from its customers. The company says that while 70 percent of its orders are delivered with one drone, 30 percent are delivered with two. The addition of a larger, more capable drone will help the company better serve customers who previously ordered so many items that they required multiple drone deliveries.
“Think about how airlines operate different aircraft for different routes – this new aircraft will expedite our deliveries of larger orders,” Woodworth said. “For example, you can order last-minute ingredients for dinner: pasta, marinara sauce, Parmesan cheese, canned olives and garlic.”
Wing's drones use straps and hooks to pick up and drop off small bags and cardboard boxes in customers' front yards. The company says it has completed more than 350,000 deliveries, the majority of which were made in Australia. The company also operates in Finland and the United States, where it makes deliveries for Walmart to customers within a six-mile radius of two big-box stores outside Dallas-Fort Worth and for certain stores in Christiansburg, Virginia.
For years, drone delivery startups were hampered by rules that required operators to keep their planes in sight at all times. The idea of placing observers next to a delivery drone was impractical and expensive, which prevented many companies from growing.
“Think of it like how airlines operate different planes for different routes”
But after years of prototype testing and small suburban pilot projects, drone deliveries are expected expand dramatically in the coming years after overcoming some (but not all) of its regulatory hurdles.
Several companies, including Wing, UPS and Skydio, have received permission from the Federal Aviation Administration to deliver products to people who may live miles away and not in the drone operator's field of view. Allowing them to operate “beyond line of sight” was a major milestone for the nascent industry and opened the door to larger service areas and more customers.
Currently, customers can order items at a limited number of Wing partner stores, including Walgreens, Blue Bell Creameries, Easyvet and Texas Health. Wing hopes to expand its delivery offering by introducing different sizes of aircraft that can handle smaller or larger packages.
Wing is also thinking about other ways to improve the efficiency of its delivery network. He recently created a system that allows his drones to dynamically perform consecutive pickup and delivery jobs without needing to report to a home base. This system includes the use of self-loading stations, which are installed in retailers' parking lots for employees to load a prepared order when it is ready. When a drone is available, you can lower a rope to grab it without anyone waiting.
Drone delivery companies say that by moving more deliveries to small multirotor electric planes, fewer polluting trucks will be needed for last-mile deliveries. It's a similar pitch being made by curbside robot companies that deliver takeout orders to residents of Los Angeles and other cities.
