A drone delivery project called Project Wing was announced by Google back in 2014 when they also produced a patent, which has been granted on Tuesday. The patent referred to a “delivery receptacle” which should accept packages brought by drones and proceed to move the packages to a secure location.
Many companies are interested in starting to deliver packages via drones, including retailers like Amazon or Walmart. The Google delivery project is said to start by 2017. However, it doesn’t only depend on the companies, but also on the Federal Aviation Authority which has to approve the use of commercial drones. Until that, pretty much any project concerning drone-powered deliveries is on hold.
But besides the actual drone hovering over cities with your package, Google brings something new to the idea, a robot which will receive your package. Given the fact that we spend few time at home and the chances of us being there at the precise moment of the drone’s arrival are scarce, a robot intercepting the delivery could actually prove to be of great help.
In this way, you will know your package is not simply delivered at your door or on your lawn but it is actually received and maybe even put away into a safe place until you get home. The receptacle robot has infrared beacons which it uses to connect to the drone, guiding it to the delivery spot.
This system should be able to make secure deliveries, making sure the drone doesn’t get lost and that your package is safely placed wherever you want, for example in the garage. Now, although the patent was approved, Google hasn’t officially announced the “delivery receptacle” and therefore there is no guarantee the delivery system will exist and work in this form.
However, at least we got a glimpse of what Google has in project for the future and hopefully they will get approval to use commercial drones by 2017 and our packages will be delivered soon and safe.
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