Fly, baby, fly
Google unveils drone delivery-network, reports the BBC. The new venture is appropriately called Wing Aviation and according to its CEO it will be ready by mid-2024 to deliver millions of boxes.
The basic premise for this business is the last-mile delivery problem.
You can make very efficient delivery between distribution hubs where one truck can bring several tons of goods at once. On the consumer delivery side, you have to find the right size of a truck, the right number trucks and frequency with which they should operate.
The problem is known, but the solution is always difficult. If you don’t get it right, you lose lots of money. Just ask companies like UPS or Fedex.
Google is of course not the first one to try something like this. You most likely forgot the exciting news when Jeff Bezos (yes, the guy who started Amazon) announced in December, 2013 that within the next 4 to 5 years Amazon would have a system in place to start delivering goods that could arrive within 30 minutes.
That was almost 10 years ago and they never were able to hit that 30-minute goal. However, in June, 2022, Amazon shared the good news that drones were almost ready to start delivering. Amazon’s Prime Air pilot project would run in Lockeford, California. Was this going to be the turning point?
