Google in race to build fleet of package-delivery drones
Print Edition
GOOGLE’S secretive research laboratory is trying to build a fleet of drones designed to bypass earthbound traffic so packages can be delivered to people more quickly.
The ambitious program announced on Thursday escalates Google’s technological arms race with rival Amazon.com Inc, which also is experimenting with self-flying vehicles to carry merchandise bought by customers of its online store.
Amazon is mounting its own challenges to Google in online video, digital advertising and mobile computing in a battle that also involves Apple Inc.
Google Inc calls its foray into drones “Project Wing.”
Although Google expects it to take several more years before its fleet of drones is fully operational, the company says test flights in Australia delivered a first aid kit, candy bars, dog treats and water to two farmers after traveling a distance of roughly one kilometer two weeks ago. Google’s video of the test flight, set to the strains of the 1969 song “Spirit In The Sky,” can be seen at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRTNvWcx9Oo.
But Google and Amazon still need to gain government approval to fly commercial drones in many countries, including the US. Amazon last month asked the Federal Aviation Administration for permission to expand its drone testing. The FAA now allows hobbyists and model aircraft makers to fly drones, but commercial use is mostly banned.
Project Wing is the latest venture to emerge from Google’s “X” lab, which has also been working on self-driving cars and other far-flung innovations that company CEO Larry Page likens to “moonshots” that push the technological envelope. The lab’s other handiwork includes Internet-connected eyewear called Google Glass, Internet-beaming balloons called Project Loon and a high-tech contact lens that monitors glucose levels in diabetics.
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