Drone delivery is one of those ideas that has been forever touted as the “next big thing.” No matter how bullish you happen to be with technology, there are many things that need to be clarified before you can start talking seriously about mainstream adoption. Regulatory issues are big boxes to check, as are some big logistical issues.
Wing, a graduate of Alphabet X, today introduced its work on the latter in the form of a “delivery network.” The company compares the idea to ridesharing, opposing the sort of round-trip model that players in this category have come to recognize. back to its original location.
It’s a simple path, and it makes sense that most people have used this path as a starting point. In a blog post published this morning, Wing said:
Until now, the industry has stuck with the drone itself. We’ve designed, tested, and iterated on aircraft rather than finding the best way to leverage our entire fleet for efficient deliveries. Wing’s approach to shipping is different. Large-scale drone deliveries look like more efficient data networks than traditional transportation systems. As in many other areas of technology, from data centers to smartphones, physical hardware is as useful as software and logistical networks that are meaningful to organizations and their customers.
In the new configuration, Autoloader hardware will be installed in retailers’ curbside pickup areas (these began to proliferate during the pandemic, preventing people from going to stores and picking up items online). When the package is ready to be picked up, an employee will carry it to the location and secure it to the device.
The idea here is that an easy-to-install loader gives you flexibility in pickups, so the drone moves from one pickup to another, and the system determines the most effective/efficient route. In that sense, it works similarly to Uber and Lyft, matching drivers and passengers based on distance to the next drop off point.
Wing CEO Adam Woodworth wrote: “For example, using multiple charging spots gives us the flexibility to meet peaks in consumer demand across the city. It can be updated and extended.”
The system will be rolled out within the next year, Wing said. The company expects that by mid-2024, “our system will be able to handle tens of millions of deliveries for millions of consumers at lower delivery costs than ground transportation.” .
