Google parent company Wing gets first approval for drone deliveries in US

Drone deliveries have been controversial since its inception. Since years, the use of drones have been a topic of controversy and has been question over privacy and security issues. Soon millions of drones could be seen buzzing in the air while delivering groceries that you need to make today’s dinner, medicine that you just forgot to pick up from the pharmacy or even a hot cup of coffee. Some might visualize this as an efficient future while others might see this as the beginning of privacy invasion.

No matter how it is accepted, such a scenario is surely close to reality. The Federal Aviation Administration on April 23, 2019 said that the drone delivery unit of Google’s parent company, Alphabet has got the agency’s first approval to use drones to carry and deliver packages commercially. The wing was earlier testing its drones in a suburb of Canberra Australia, where the machines managed to make more than 3,000 deliveries in part to demonstrate the drones’ safety and get the approval of the F.A.A.

However, there will be restrictions on the American front as the drone deliveries will be limited to the parts of southwest Virginia where the Wing is already part of an F.A.A pilot program while looking at how to integrate drones with the society. The exact locations of drone operation is yet to be determined. F.A.A spokesperson Greg Martin clarified that the drones can be operated only in the day when the weather is clear enough that they can be seen. They cannot fly above 400 feet as the planes and helicopters typically fly above 500 feet. One drone pilot can remotely operate up to five machines, but it is still not clear if there is a cap on the total number of drones allowed in the sky at one time.

Despite restrictions, the usage of drones has been backed by the F.A.A approval and is particularly game changing at times when the drone delivery initiatives were slowed down due to public aversion.

Photo Credits: Pixabay