Walgreens will be the first retailer in the U.S. to test an on-demand drone delivery service with Wing in Christiansburg, Virginia, next month.
Source: Ala
Alphabet’s drone company, Wing, delivered 10,000 cups of coffee, 1,700 packets of snacks and 1,200 roast chickens to customers in Logan, Australia, over the past year, the company said Wednesday in a blog post that he explained his progress.
Wing was initially launched in 2019 in Australia, following a series of drone tests that began in 2014. The service, which was initially part of Alphabet’s experimental research division, allows users orders items like food via a mobile app and is fast approaching 100,000 deliveries since its launch.
Wing hopes to one day deliver products to people around the world without having to rely on drivers or delivery trucks like other companies. That’s why UPS, Uber and Amazon are also working on drone delivery.
In 2019, Wing became the first drone delivery company to obtain approval from the U.S. Federal Aviation Authority, which allowed the company to begin dropping packages. Amazon, which launched an initiative called Prime Air in 2016, received FAA approval last year to deliver packages beyond the visual vision of a drone operator.
Wing currently operates in the United States, Finland and Australia. In 2019, the company wanted to hold at least two dozen positions in the United States. That same year, the company began testing a service with Walgreens to deliver over-the-counter food, beverages and medications.
The company announced that it will announce new cities and partners in the coming months.