A new drone delivery system will bring ice cream and pet meds to Texans

Wing, the drone delivery division of Google-parent-company Alphabet, announced on Monday that it will launch its first US commercial service on April 7 in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area. It’s starting small, initially serving “tens of thousands of homes” in two suburbs: the City of Frisco and Town of Little Elm. Rather than using one central base, Wing has placed what it calls “nests” of drones next to participating stores. It says that in the future, these can be deployed in parking lots, adjacent empty space, and even on rooftops. When an order comes in, employees at the participating store pack the items into a special cardboard box then load it onto a delivery drone. Wing then takes over the operation of the drone, managing the flight to the customer’s home, where it will hover at around 23 feet. It then lowers the package on a tether, automatically releasing it on the ground before flying back to its base to recharge. According to Wing, the customer doesn’t have to do anything.