Wing, the drone delivery service that’s an offshoot of Google parent company Alphabet, will launch its first pilot service in Virginia starting in October 2019. The company is teaming up with FedEx, Walgreens, and gift purveyor Sugar Magnolia to deliver health care products, food, and more to residents of the town of Christiansburg in southwest Virginia.

The pilot, which is part of the US Department of Transportation’s Integration Pilot Program, aims to demonstrate the viability of drone delivery, which is still very much in a nascent stage of development. Earlier this year, Wing became one of the first drone operators to be certified as a commercial air carrier by the Federal Aviation Administration, allowing it to autonomously deliver commercial goods to recipients that may be miles away and not in the operator’s line of sight.

Meanwhile, eligible FedEx Express customers who live Christiansburg’s “designated delivery zones,” and who opt in to the Wing delivery service, will be able to receive some packages via delivery drone. Wing has designed a customized box that its drones will use to transport packages to the homes of intended recipients.

To learn more, check out the whole article below.

https://www.theverge.com/2019/9/19/20874316/wing-drone-delivery-fedex-walgreens-virginia