Drone-delivery operator Wing has introduced a new operating model called ‘Wing Delivery Network’ in which drones will move around multiple locations to meet demand much like a courier van, rather than returning to a base after each task.
Retailers using the on-demand delivery service will need to set up a hardware apparatus dubbed ‘Autoloader’ outside their location into which employees place the package and walk away.
The automated system will select a drone to retrieve the package and deliver it to the customer without making the trip back to its original point of origin.
Wing CEO, Adam Woodworth, described the model as a “decentralised, automated system” that can support high-volume drone delivery across major metro areas or in sparsely populated regions.
“Wing Delivery Network’s lightweight infrastructure makes it easy to integrate into existing retail operations and support them in interesting new ways.
“Our Autoloader allows our delivery drones to perform what has become a tremendously popular service –curbside pickup–on the consumer’s behalf, with no additional work for store employees.”
Wing drones can also autonomously pick up, drop off, travel, and charge in whatever pattern makes sense to the system.
The aircraft themselves can be used as surveying tools to inform and update the network with a provision to add multiple pad locations at a side.
