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Walmart's latest drone trial delivers at-home COVID-19 tests
A pilot project is underway in North Las Vegas.
Alphabet’s Wing starts drone deliveries to US homes
Alphabet's Wing has started making deliveries by drone to homes in the US for the first time. During a pilot program in Christiansburg, Virginia, drones will drop off packages from FedEx, Walgreens and local retailer Sugar Magnolia, which include over-the-counter medication, snacks and gifts. Alphabet says it's the first commercial drone delivery service to homes in the country.
UPS delivery drones are on the way after FAA certification
UPS might soon be dropping off packages across the US by drone. The Federal Aviation Administration granted the UPS Flight Forward subsidiary air carrier and operator certification, allowing it to use drones for commercial deliveries.
Uber's drone-based food delivery could begin in 2021
At this year's Uber Elevate Summit in May, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi discussed the possibility of a drone-based food delivery service. Now, it looks like a job posting has hinted that the company is looking to launch the service by 2021.
Drones won't be delivering weed in California any time soon
In the near future, your pizza, Big Mac, and groceries could all be delivered autonomously. But, the good Cali folk out there expecting their newly legalized batches of pot to arrive in the same manner, are in for a bummer. The California Bureau of Cannabis Control recently declared that weed deliveries cannot be made by autonomous vehicles -- that includes UAVs and unmanned self-driving cars. Therefore, don't go expecting the robot delivering your munchies to bring you Scooby Snacks too.
Amazon's drone deliveries could include shipping label parachutes
It's hard to believe it's been almost three years since Amazon announced its plan to deliver packages via drone. The first air delivery occurred last December in the UK and the retailer continues to refine the concept with futuristic ideas to perch the flying couriers on streetlights and deploy them from flying warehouses. In a new patent discovered by GeekWire, Amazon's next step is an "Aerial Package Delivery System," a delivery label that includes one of those parachutes that could make shipping via an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that much easier.
The Future IRL: Deliveries via robot
Your online delivery habit is facing a growing problem: the rising number of packages needing delivery, combined with a projected deficit in truck drivers (PDF). But that's the issue a company like Starship Technologies is trying to solve. It just started testing a delivery robot in US cities (though the company has been overseas for a few years, already) and is hoping both its design and cost win over any skeptics worried about a robot that knows where they live and what kind of food they like. Don't miss the next episode of Future IRL on March 7th, when we'll be looking at the future of virtual reality.
Amazon's delivery drones could drop packages with parachutes
Amazon's much-anticipated (and long time coming) drone deliveries might technically finally be happening, but a new patent spotted by CNN suggests your next book or box-set might actually arrive via parachute. There are many practical, legal and technical challenges that drone deliveries present -- and getting the parcel on the ground is just one of them.
ICYMI: Snap's Spectacles are being used to broadcast surgery
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: A surgeon who goes by the name virtualsurgeon on Snapchat used Spectacles to broadcast a hernia surgery. Meanwhile the Office of Naval Research demoed its prototype autonomous swarm watercraft, that no joke travel in packs and investigate other boats. There was so much big news this week but we recommend reading up on how scientists are duplicating climate change data before a Trump presidency. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
ICYMI: Amazon made its first drone-powered delivery
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Amazon has been testing drone deliveries for three years now, even having to move to the UK to keep it going once the FAA changed its UAV guidelines. The company released a video of its first fully autonomous drone delivery, which happened on December 7. Meanwhile a team of researchers from Los Alamos National Laboratory dug into what would happen if a sizable meteorite hit the ocean and the modeling shows a substantial amount of water vapor would get thrown into the stratosphere, which would not do great things for climate change. Finally, the Danish Neighborhood Watch came out with a robbery-preventing Christmas light and app combination to deter robbers-- and provide laughs for the rest of us. If you're looking for the dash cam video of an Uber car going through a red light, that's here. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
Amazon completes its first drone-powered delivery
It's already been three years since Amazon first revealed its somewhat audacious plan to make deliveries by drone. But the company is quite serious about this, and today it is announcing that it completed the first Amazon Prime Air delivery on December 7th. The shipment, which took 13 minutes from order to delivery, was sent to a customer in Cambridge, England, where Amazon is operating a custom-built fulfillment center.
Alphabet's drone service reportedly nixes Starbucks delivery deal
It looks like Alphabet is walking back its Project Wing drone delivery initiative. Some employees are being told to seek other jobs within the company formerly known as Google, and the outfit even killed a partnership with Starbucks, according to Bloomberg. Wait, Starbucks? Apparently, there were talks of using the drones to deliver coffee, much in the way that Chipotle was going to fly burritos to Virginia Tech students. Google provides WiFi at some of the coffee chain's locations. "Those plans were nixed largely over disagreements about the access to customer data that Alphabet wanted," according to Bloomberg's sources. Sounds like classic Alphabet.
UPS testing drones to deliver emergency medical supplies
Remember when Amazon announced Prime Air drone delivery back in 2013? Following the excited hubbub, other services including UPS scrambled to try out competitive airbone services. But then everyone ran into a slew of logistics and regulations issues, which have taken years to untangle. In the past few months, Google was given FAA approval for drone deliveries and Amazon might bypass regulation entirely for its air shipping. But UPS is going in a different direction: Testing UAVs to ferry emergency medical supplies.
ICYMI: Stack your dominoes and get the pizza delivered too
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Global pizza company Domino's is teaming up with drone delivery company Flirtey to launch an actual pie delivery service, via UAV, in New Zealand. The company has passed checks by the country's Civil Aviation Authority and aims to begin tests later this year. Meanwhile virtual reality gamers are (understandably) losing it over the latest thing to make VR look incredible: Dexmo exoskeleton gloves that are worn, then react as though objects within games are actually being manipulated.
ICYMI: Google's so much closer to delivery by drone
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Google's Project Wing is about to take off now that the US Government signed off on the company testing drone delivery within the country; perfect timing for Google's commercial launch of the service sometime in 2017. Physicists from the University of New Mexico created a laser that can cool a crystal down to negative 296 degrees Fahrenheit, which could be useful for infrared detectors on satellites or to detect skin cancer. In case you didn't see Instagram's video launching its new story function, you should see it just to sound informed when your friends talk about whether the company blatantly stole from Snapchat. Then wash that all down with YouTuber Eric Mouellic's video showing how close he came to a huge fin whale. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
Amazon teams up with the UK to make drone delivery a reality
Amazon has found a staunch ally in the British government in its quest to use drones for delivery. This new partnership with the UK gives the company a chance to test its drones the way it can't in the US. For one, the UK is allowing Amazon to deploy beyond line of sight tests in both rural and suburban areas. In the US, Amazon can only fly drones if they're within the pilot's line of sight, which makes it impossible to deliver parcels to farther locations. The e-commerce company will also use this opportunity to make sure its UAVs' sensors can identify and avoid obstacles and to deploy operations wherein one person controls multiple highly automated drones.
Walmart trials stock-checking drones in its warehouses
Few jobs are more monotonous than counting inventory all day, every day. Maybe that's why Walmart is thinking about farming the job out to drones. The retailer is running tests to see if camera equipped drones can help speed up inventory counts in its distribution centers. So far, results are promising -- during a recent demo of the technology, Walmart said that the drones could potentially do a month's worth of human labor in a single day.
Nevada gets first FAA-approved urban drone delivery
Flirtey, the startup that did the first FAA-sanctioned drone delivery in a rural area, has replicated the feat in an urban setting. It sent out an autonomous hexacopter on a half-a-mile flight to an empty house in Hawthorne, Nevada on March 10th, carrying food, water and a first-aid kit in a box attached to a rope. It's probably not the most secure way to transport fragile objects, though, so Amazon might have to devise another method to deliver TVs or anything breakable. The drone flew with zero human intervention -- there was a pilot on standby in case things go awry, but the team programmed its flight path beforehand.
FAA gives Amazon the OK to conduct drone tests
After threatening to take its drone tests elsewhere, the FAA granted the online retailer permission to test its unmanned aircraft. If you'll recall, Bezos & Co. weren't interested in leveraging any of the government-approved test sites for drone trials, wanting instead to fly near its Seattle R&D facility. The "experimental airworthiness certificate" awarded today allows Amazon to make test flights at 400 feet or below, so long as the unmanned aircraft stays within the pilot's sight. What's more, any testing must be done during the day, with a private pilot's certificate and medical credentials required for anyone behind the controls. As is the case with this type of permit, the FAA requires monthly reports that include the number of flights, pilot time, any issues that arise, if there's a loss of communication and if the pilot has to deviate from the air traffic controllers' cues. Back in January, the FAA teamed up with CNN to look into the use of drones for news coverage, so we could certainly see even more of the flying machines take off soon. Of course, we'll still have to wait a while to receive packages via drone, but at least Amazon is getting to test in its own backyard.
Crocs 'midair shoe store' is staffed by drones
My friends and family don't let me wear Crocs. But still, I'm in the middle of Tokyo to see Crocs send a drone flying to pick up a (hypothetical) customers' shoes. It's all to do with promoting the shoemaker's new range of lightweight Norlin footwear -- they're not the Crocs you're thinking of -- and it involves a custom-built drone delivering the correct style and size to the customer. On top of that, it's all automated, so it's like a giant Crocs-themed vending machine... albeit with drones.
