Alphabet drone delivery company Wing posted a blog this morning revealing that it will be reaching 100,000 deliveries of customers over the weekend. This news comes as the Brisbane metropolitan area's second anniversary marks the launch of services pilots in Logan, Australia.
It arrives just weeks after Wired reported on Amazon's drone delivery struggles. TechCrunch also learned that Wing Communications head Jonathan Bass said that the company is poised to expand into other markets over the next few months.
Bass said to TechCrunch that he believes well grow quite a lot. In the next six months, I believe well launch new services to Australia, Finland, and the United States. The technology's capabilities are likely to surpass the regulatory approvals.
More than half of all deliveries were made in Logan during the past eight months. For example, customers placed orders for 4,500 deliveries in the first week of August. This works out to about one delivery every 30 seconds during Wings' delivery window.
These numbers include:
10,000 cups of coffee
1,700 childrens snack packs
1,200 hot chooks, or roasted chicken, in Australian
2,700 Sushi Rolls
1000 loaves of bread
Their battery life limits the drones' range to six miles. The drones can travel only six miles so food doesn't freeze or stay hot. According to the company, weight is the main limitation. It can carry up to 3 pounds. The system seems to have no problems with carrying fragile items like eggs.
Drones travel at about 100 to 150 feet above the ground and descend to 23 feet to reach their destination. A tether attaches to the drone and lowers it to the ground. The package is not required to be received by anyone.
Bass estimates that there have been close to half a million test flights and deliveries over the last four or five years. We have gradually moved into dense areas and listened to the communities to reduce drone noise.
