According to foreign media Bloomberg, a subsidiary of Google’s parent company Alphabet Wing develops a new set of drone prototypes.
Wing is one of many retail companies looking to transform their businesses by building drone delivery networks, such as Amazon’s Prime Air and Walmart’s Zipline International.
Previously, Wing had launched a delivery drone called the Hummingbird. The company said,Hummingbird deliveries are limited to 0.9kg.Currently, hummingbirdsHundreds of thousands of deliveries have been made in areas including suburban Dallas, Virginia, Australia and Finland.
The new drone launched this time has been developed and upgraded on the basis of Hummingbird.The new drone has the same engine and guidance system as the Hummingbirdthey are also similar in design.
The new set of drones comes in two sizes, the larger drones can carry 7 pounds of cargo, and the smaller drones can carry prescription drugs lighter than 0.6 pounds. A large drone looks like a spaceship, and a small drone looks like some hobbyist’s small plane.
▲ Two sizes of drones
Wing CEO Adam Woodworth told Bloomberg that the company uses a hybrid aircraft called the Hummingbird WB. This aircraft can take off vertically like a helicopter and then fly horizontally in the air after takeoff. Woodworth said they adopted the hybrid aircraft in the hope that the company would have more flexibility as it expands its business. “We plan to develop different product lines of aircraft so that different aircraft can meet different usage needs,” he said.
Woodworth said:This drone has a range of 6 miles, we plan to build a new drone prototype, hoping to increase the flying distance of the drone and realize short-distance transportation in the city. “
According to Bloomberg, the Federal Aviation Administration has strict safety restrictions on drone delivery testing. Also, there are currently no safety regulations for this type of transportation in the United States. So in the United States, it will take a long time for drones to achieve regular transportation.
Conclusion: Breaking the last mile, drones may become the key
In the delivery process, the last mile is the most expensive part. The transportation cost of the last mile may account for more than half of the total cost, and drones can effectively reduce this part of the cost.
It is mentioned in the article that at present, there are no relevant industry regulations for drone delivery in the United States, and the routine transportation of drones has not yet been realized. In this regard, China is more advanced than the United States.
The domestic drone delivery industry has formed a certain scale. JD.com has been offering drone delivery services since 2015. Meituan launched its drone delivery business in 2020, and its pilot project has covered 8,000 customers in Shenzhen.
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