Editor's note: This article is from WeChat public number "machine heart" (ID: almosthuman2014), the author Synced, Li Zenan,.
After obtaining government approval and entering into partnerships with FedEx, Walgreens and other companies, Google (Alphabet) subsidiary Wing announced on Friday that it has begun delivering express packages, over-the-counter medications, food and other services to residents of the Christiansburg area of the U.S. state of Virginia. This is the first commercialized drone delivery service in the United States.
This is a major milestone event for the U.S. drone delivery business. Earlier this year, Wing became one of the first drone operators to be certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as a commercial air carrier to deliver goods to users within miles.
For us, in terms of use, the first few steps of this new delivery method are no different from regular delivery.
In the demo video, we can see that customers only need to use the cell phone App to select the goods and click to buy. On the other side, the warehouse stocking workers need to bag the goods, hang up the drone hovering in the air and start delivery. The whole process is simple and fast.
This company says that the drone courier approach helps to reduce the number of cars and trucks delivering goods, is more environmentally friendly, and can also ease traffic congestion. In addition, drone courier can also be more convenient to provide services for users with limited mobility.
Wing promises that their courier service delivers goods within minutes in select areas of Christiansburg and at no extra cost compared to other forms of delivery.
Michael and Kelly Collver became the first two users of the service, ordering 'cold medicine parcels' with their drone courier, which included Tylenol, cough medicine, make-up paper, Emergen-C and bottled water. With the first commercial pilot service for drone delivery, FedEx became the first logistics company in U.S. history to offer drone delivery on its own, and U.S. drug seller Walgreens became the first retailer to implement a store-to-customer peer-to-peer drone service.
Users in designated areas now have the option of using drones to deliver FedEx packages: hooking up the items to be delivered to the drone at a designated spot in a small yard or roadside in front of their home. In addition to this, Wing has also partnered with local Virginia retailer Sugar Magnolia to enable 'last mile' delivery to homes. With the drones, Sugar Magnolia customers can buy small items (candy and other lightweight goods) online and wait for the delivery to arrive at their doorstep.
In terms of regulations, Wing operates its current service under the FAA's new Air Carrier Certificate. This certificate provides clear conditions for expanding the scope of service, in particular by allowing Wing's pilots to manage the flights of multiple aircraft at the same time while providing public service, thereby eliminating the need for a large number of human pilots.
Globally, the drone delivery business is gradually entering the commercialization phase. On Tuesday, U.S. logistics giant United Parcel Service (UPS) announced that it had received approval from the federal government regarding drone package delivery operations.
In China, on October 15, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) issued the "Approval Letter for Trial Operation of Specific Classes of Drones" and the "License to Operate Drone Logistics and Distribution" to Hangzhou Send Logistics Technology Co. This is the first license issued by CAAC for the trial operation of a specific type of drone logistics in urban scenarios. The issuance of this license has also become a milestone event in the field of unmanned aviation in China.
According to Zhejiang Daily, during the trial period, Send Bar Logistics will use the air distribution network to provide medical emergency supplies transportation and same-city instant delivery services within Hangzhou City, with the farthest point-to-point service distance currently set at 20 kilometers. It is expected that by 2020, the company will initially build an air distribution network throughout Hangzhou, providing 1,000 flights per day.
In addition, the South Korean government is also relaxing drone-related control measures and expanding the scope of drone applications to public services. It is reported that South Korea will formulate specific standards for drone courier services and related equipment standards in 2020 and 2023 respectively, and strive to realize the commercialization of drone courier services by 2025.
Reference Content:
https://www.theverge.com/2019/10/18/20921310/wings-delivery-drones-virginia-first-flight
https://medium.com/wing-aviation/wing-launches-americas-first-commercial-drone-delivery-service-to-homes-in-christiansburg-f8e8c3b2bb47
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