Wing, a subsidiary of Google, captivated audiences with a remarkable demonstration of its autonomous drone delivery technology at Colorado's renowned Coors Field. Despite not being held on a game day, over 1,000 spectators gathered in the stands to commemorate the kickoff party for the annual autonomous systems conference organized by AUVSI.
The selection of Coors Field for this demonstration was deliberate, given its challenging environment. Situated in Denver, one of the nation's fastest-growing cities, the stadium presents numerous obstacles for delivery, including stadium seating and towering jumbotrons. Furthermore, with an elevation of 5,200 feet, Coors Field proudly stands as one of North America's tallest stadiums.
As Wing gears up for a significant expansion of its drone delivery service through the recently announced Wing Delivery Network operating model, the company aimed to showcase the technology's versatility in reaching almost any location. Its primary focus is to replace conventional ground-based delivery methods with a more efficient system for transporting small packages across vast areas.
Wing has already achieved remarkable success in increasingly dense environments, operating in rural farms, sparsely populated suburbs, and even densely populated regions such as Brisbane, Australia, Helsinki, Finland, and the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area in Texas. In Brisbane alone, Wing managed to deliver nearly 1,000 packages per day, averaging at an impressive rate of one delivery every 25 seconds.
The environmental impact of Wing's drone delivery program is equally remarkable. Wing's delivery drones are approximately ten times more efficient than some of the most advanced electric vehicles on the road and over 50 times more efficient than an average gasoline-powered vehicle.
To put it into perspective, when a customer orders a box of pasta through Wing, the energy consumed by boiling the water for cooking is typically higher than the energy utilized for delivering the package several miles to their doorstep.
In terms of energy efficiency, a Wing drone can complete a 14-mile delivery using the equivalent amount of energy required for an average gasoline-powered car to travel only about 0.3 miles. Leading electric vehicles, on the other hand, could cover approximately 1.25 miles with the same energy.
Wing's demonstration at Coors Field not only highlighted the company's technological prowess but also emphasized its commitment to sustainability and innovation in the realm of delivery services. With its efficient and eco-friendly solutions, Wing is set to transform the future of logistics and transportation.
