Walgreens, FedEx Test Drone Deliveries With Alphabet's Wing

Next month, drones from a Google sister company will start flying deliveries for FedEx and Walgreens to consumers' homes in southwest Virginia.

The upcoming delivery service is the latest pilot project from Wing Aviation, a subsidiary of Alphabet. In April, it became the first drone delivery company to receive an air carrier certification from the Federal Aviation Administration, opening the door for actual commercial shipments flown with the company's aerial bots.

Although the delivery service will only be open to residents in Christiansburg, Virginia, which is home to 21,000 people, the trial offers a glimpse of what kinds of services we can expect from Wing's drone-powered delivery system.

"Walgreens and Wing will make over-the-counter medicines and other health and wellness items available for delivery on-demand, through the air, and within minutes of ordering," Wing said in a Thursday blog post. "Walgreens will be the first retail pharmacy to offer drone delivery in the United States."

FedEx Express customers can also receive eligible deliveries from the drones when they opt into the Wing delivery service. Packages will be shipped in special boxes carried by the aerial bots. When the drone reaches its delivery location, it will hover and lower the package to the recipient's home with a special line.

Wing has also teamed up with local Virginia retailer Sugar Magnolia to let customers deliver items such as birthday cards, small gifts and candies to friends or family. Orders can be made with Wing's mobile app. Each drone can carry a small package that weighs 3.3 pounds or less.

Eligible residents in Christiansburg can sign up to join the "Early Flyer" waitlist on Wing's website. The company hasn't said when it'll roll out the drone deliveries to more locations across the US. But Wing is kicking off a similar trial to residents in Queensland, Australia.

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About Michael Kan

Senior Reporter

I've been with PCMag since October 2017, covering a wide range of topics, including consumer electronics, cybersecurity, social media, networking, and gaming. Prior to working at PCMag, I was a foreign correspondent in Beijing for over five years, covering the tech scene in Asia.

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