The Drones Are Coming! How Amazon, Alphabet and Uber Are Taking to the Skies
October 25 2019 - 11:11AM
Dow Jones News
By Sebastian Herrera and Alberto Cervantes
Flying robots that deliver packages to people's doorsteps are no
longer science fiction. Companies including Amazon.com Inc.,
Alphabet Inc.'s Wing and Uber Technologies Inc. are starting the
most advanced trials of drone delivery in U.S. history.
While commercial drone delivery faces many hurdles,
government-approved tests by the tech giants will mark the first
time consumers in parts of the country experience the technology.
Wing this month started tests in Christiansburg, Va., while Uber
says it will experiment in San Diego before the year ends. Amazon
hasn't revealed where it is operating but said in June it would
begin delivering packages to consumers via drone "within
months."
Amazon, Uber and Wing are hardly the only players tinkering with
the technology. This month United Parcel Service Inc. gained
approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to build out a
fleet of unmanned aircraft to deliver health supplies and
eventually consumer packages in the U.S.
Experts say wide-scale drone delivery operations will take years
to build out. The FAA predicts sales of drones for a wide range of
commercial purposes to grow from 600,000 in 2016 to 2.7 million by
2020.
The approaches vary, and success is anything but assured.
Design
Amazon says its hexagonal design allows the drone to switch
between a vertical helicopter-like mode and a horizontal airplane
mode. The hexagonal wings help stabilize the drone in gusty winds
and double as a shroud to protect the six propellers, Amazon says.
Amazon first tested a drone service in Cambridge, England, in 2016
and tried out roughly 50,000 design concepts before settling on its
latest design. Amazon hasn't said where it is testing the new
drones.
Wing's drone looks more like a small plane. Its two wings,
extending more than 3 feet, each feature a propeller and allow the
drone to fly further while conserving energy, the company says.
Altogether, the drone has 14 propellers designed to reduce noise.
Wing, which started in 2012 as a project in Alphabet's X lab, began
trials in Australia in 2014 and has conducted more than 80,000
tests. Wing is initially working with Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc.
and FedEx Corp. to deliver small packages, food, beverages and
medicine items in Christiansburg. Wing's parent also owns
Google.
Uber is using a drone built by another company. The modified
AR200 by AirRobot has limitations, flying slower than the other
drones and with a more limited range. Uber says that will improve
when it begins testing a proprietary drone late this year or early
next year. It completed limited tests in May at a McDonald's near
San Diego State University. Uber says residents near the university
will soon be able to order drone-delivered food from certain local
restaurants through the Uber Eats app.
Takeoff
The companies approach the takeoff differently. Amazon aims to
have its Prime Air drones depart from its fulfillment centers with
a package in tow. Wing's drone is designed to hover in the air when
it picks up a package from a store, sending a tether down where a
worker can attach a package.
Uber said restaurant workers will clip a food package onto
Uber's drone from the ground at the start of the delivery. Like
Amazon, Uber's drone will typically scale vertically to a height of
up to 400 feet, the maximum allowed by the FAA. Wing's drone is
slated to travel at heights of 100 feet to 200 feet.
Flying
The companies say drones could dramatically speed up delivery
times, with Amazon flying a max of 15 miles round trip and
expecting its deliveries to take 30 minutes or less. Wing aims to
deliver in less than 10 minutes for a 12-mile range. Uber's tests
in San Diego averaged 7 minutes for a 3-mile range. Wing's drone
can zip at speeds of up to 70 miles an hour, roughly the equivalent
of a car on a highway.
Landing
The landing is challenging. The drones have to find a safe spot
and ensure they don't hit anything, including people.
Wing never actually lands. Once the drone reaches customers'
homes a tether lowers a box to the ground from about 24 feet in the
air and automatically unclips the package. The company designed the
tether to create a safe space between its drone and customers.
Uber said its drones will eventually land on top of vehicles of
its Uber Eats drivers, who Uber said will be responsible for the
last leg of deliveries -- a method it said limits customer
interaction with the drones.
Amazon's payload must carry electronics, household items and
other popular products on the retailer's online marketplace.
Amazon's drone carries packages within a closed compartment that
opens once on the ground.
Obstacles
Amazon, Wing and Uber have to overcome a number of obstructions
and concerns before drone delivery can become widespread.
The companies say they have built safeguards to their devices.
Amazon uses machine learning algorithms and infrared sensors to
detect birds, wires and other obstacles. Amazon programs its drones
with scenarios -- such as a delivery location not being detected --
and commands to follow in such scenarios.
Last winter, Wing tested its drone north of Helsinki during
snowy and windy conditions. The company's drone has built-in wind
sensors and is waterproof, with computer chip boards covered in
silicone coating. Uber is planning to put a thermal feature in its
future drone to keep food items cold or hot.
Unlike airplanes, experts say no standard exists on how drones
will identify and communicate with each other while in the air,
making drone delivery by multiple companies in the same area not
currently possible. Some companies have been given more freedom
than others. Wing, for example, has been certified to build out an
air carrier network, while Uber and Amazon haven't.
Write to Sebastian Herrera at Sebastian.Herrera@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 25, 2019 10:56 ET (14:56 GMT)
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