Google is targeting drone package deliveries to consumers by sometime in 2017, Reuters has reported.Reuters has reported David Vos, Google Project Wing leader, as telling an audience at an air traffic control convention near Washington that Google’s “goal is to have commercial business up and running in 2017”.
Momentum has been steadily building behind drone delivery, with a number of companies focused on employing the next-gen technology.
Amazon and Walmart, among others, have been investigating its use, while Google unveiled Project Wing, being developed by its Google X facility, last year.
Reuters reported Vos as stating that Google is in talks with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and other stakeholders about setting up an air traffic control system for drones employing cellular and internet technology, coordinating unmanned flights at altitudes under 152 m.
“We’re pretty much on a campaign here, working with the FAA, working with the small UAV community and the aviation community at large, to move things along,” Reuters reported Vos as stating.
“We think we can accomplish a lot in the next three, six, 12 months. And we’re hoping to get some strong support to make this happen.”
The Australian Financial Review recently reported that Australia Post will undertake a trial of parcel deliveries by drone next year, having begun testing deliveries using the technology.
