Wing Debuts a Rideshare-Style Drone Delivery Network (engadget.com) 20
Alphabet's Wing is debuting a Wing Delivery Network platform that relies on decentralized and highly automated pickups. Engadget reports: Drones charge and deliver in whatever locations make the most sense for the broader system. If demand surges in a given area, more drones can operate around the nearest pads. Crucially, your local restaurant or store doesn't have to do much to take advantage of the network. An AutoLoader system lets shops simply latch a package to a curbside pickup location and walk away -- the drone handles the rest. Businesses have to order drones, but they don't have to manage the fleet or make employees wait for an aircraft to arrive.
The technology is also meant to scale elegantly. It's relatively easy to add new pad locations as usage grows, and the drones can double as scouts that expand the network. The drones can even make sure they're allowed to fly in a given area. Wing expects "elements" of the Delivery Network to deploy over the next year, with demonstrations taking place worldwide in 2023. Provided all goes according to plan, the brand wants to handle "millions" of deliveries by mid-2024, at prices that beat conventional ground-based delivery.
The technology is also meant to scale elegantly. It's relatively easy to add new pad locations as usage grows, and the drones can double as scouts that expand the network. The drones can even make sure they're allowed to fly in a given area. Wing expects "elements" of the Delivery Network to deploy over the next year, with demonstrations taking place worldwide in 2023. Provided all goes according to plan, the brand wants to handle "millions" of deliveries by mid-2024, at prices that beat conventional ground-based delivery.
And when the drones drop the food (Score:4, Funny)
We'll have cheeseburgers from heaven. [giphy.com]
Thanks, burger gods!
Re: (Score:2)
Drop? Who said anything about dropping? [gannett-cdn.com]
Now... The real issue I see is getting Cartier to start using drones for delivery.
Rideshare-style? (Score:2)
Ride sharing turned out to have nothing to do with sharing.
Equally, this has nothing to do with even so-called ridesharing.
It's not like the kid at the end of your block is going to deliver your weed with his racing drone (in his spare spare time.)
Re: (Score:2)
It's not like the kid at the end of your block is going to deliver your weed with his racing drone
That's kinda the point - drone NOT being his.
But that whole "AutoLoader system lets shops simply latch a package to a curbside pickup location and walk away" bit kinda sounds like it was built around deniability.
"I just ordered some pancakes and imagine my surprise when the package that was left to hang around in the open came with a side order of cocaine, officer."
On the other hand, there's that whole other "man in the middle" issue. Where the man in the middle has a cousin in Ukraine. [militarytimes.com]
Noisy swarm of electronic bees (Score:2)
Drones will never be mainstream as they just make too much noise.
Re: (Score:2)
They are continuously working on making them quieter with the same amount of lift. Just last month early results of the new Toroidal Propeller design were published showing how Toroidal Propellers are much quieter by reducing or redistributing tip vortices.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
Re: (Score:2)
Can they reduce it down to the noise level of a ground-based EV cruising a neighborhood street at ~30 mph [50 kph]? That is what they're competing against (or will within a decade or so). Hell, they can't even get drones to compete with the noise level of a jackass motorcyclist with poorly tuned pipes.
Frequency content matters, too: the same sound pressure level (i.e., amplitude of the pressure waves) can sound drasti
Re: (Score:2)
Can they reduce it down to the noise level of a ground-based EV cruising a neighborhood street at ~30 mph [50 kph]?
Not yet, but they are as quiet as the ICE delivery trucks here that open their back roll-up doors, grab a package, and pull them closed with a slam. A typical drone would take about 30 seconds to deliver the package and fly off. Much quicker than the delivery person running up my walkway to my front porch and back to their truck.
As long as the noise isn't any louder than the ICE vehicles and delivery takes less time at my address, I don't have a problem with drone delivery, especially if they deliver in m
Re: (Score:2)
Came here to make the same point. The flashy Wing video embedded in the article shows some footage of the drones in action, but accompanied by hip synth music and voice over - not actual audio of these things at work.
What about exploits? (Score:3)
Having a fleet of drones taking delivery and making drop offs of packages without any human interaction seems like a great way to see things stolen, or worse, to see dangerous/malicious packages delivered.
Especially if the fleet gets hacked.
Re: (Score:2)
a great way to see things stolen, or worse, to see dangerous/malicious packages delivered.
People can already steal stuff from mailboxes and porches, and mail dangerous stuff.
How does this service change any of that?
Re: (Score:2)
It lets them do it in ways that drastically reduce the odds of getting caught.
Re: (Score:3)
It lets them do it in ways that drastically reduce the odds of getting caught.
Why is stealing from a drone dropoff point safer than stealing from a porch?
How will drones recharge? (Score:2)
When I read this my first thought was - "Now instead of postal bombs, we'll have drone bombs."
How do drones recharge? Where are they stored? Drones have limited range, but still need to be forward-deployed - near the source and target of a delivery. Such infrastructure is expensive to setup and maintain.
The "millions of deliveries" ambition makes me think of drones clustered at specific locations, waiting for their next job, like what happens street corner labor markets. Maybe drone would recharge hanging u
Re: (Score:1)
They don't discuss what happens for inclement weather. For some regions, drones flying with exposed packages would be infeasible for months of the year.
They also don't discuss the noise factor. It's a disturbance for the neighbors, for all the buildings along the p
Re: (Score:2)
Thanks!
I was thinking that perhaps drone operators will sign agreements with power utilities so that their little energy vampires can hang around the neighbourhood in broad daylight.
Besides the noise of deliveries, I'd think it'd just be a matter of time before some bright spark decides to build a man-size harness operated by a dozen (or several dozen) drones. And then...
New game: Drone Skeet Shoot (Score:2)