Drone delivery business outlines future plans

Development of drone technology over the last decade has focused on improving last-mile delivery, but the aim of the game should be an automated logistics system that operates safely and efficiently at a much greater scale, according to Adam Woodworth, CEO of Wing.

Woodworth said the industry has been fixated on the drones themselves — designing, testing, and iterating on aircraft — rather than finding the best way to harness an entire fleet for efficient delivery.

He sees drone delivery at scale looking more like an efficient data network than a traditional transportation system.

“As with many other areas of technology, from data centres to smartphones, the physical hardware is only as useful as the software and logistics networks that make it meaningful for organisations and their customers.

“Wing has worked in recent years to enable our drone delivery to integrate seamlessly with existing delivery infrastructure for restaurants and retailers. We’ve launched delivery services from parking lots and rooftops, and integrated with well-known delivery apps. We’ve moved as many as one thousand packages per day in a delivery region of more than 100,000 people,” he said.

The company’s R&D and commercial operations efforts have largely been directed towards the development of a logistics platform — Wing Delivery Network — which is a decentralised, automated system that can support high-volume drone delivery across a major metro area or a more sparsely populated region.

The network is managed by logistics automation software that constantly allocates hardware resources at a city- or metro-wide scale. The software manages three basic hardware elements:

1. Delivery drones
2. Pads — where the drones take off, land and recharge batteries between trips
3. Autoloaders — which allow partners to preload packages for automatic pick-up

Curbside pick-up

Woodworth said 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 pick-up — on the consumer’s behalf, with no additional work (arguably even less) for store employees,” he said.

“The AutoLoader includes a spot where store employees can latch packages without waiting for the drone to arrive. Once the system confirms a package has been dropped off, a drone is dispatched to pick it up and then deliver it to the customer. There is no power or data connection required.”

Drones within the Wing Delivery Network can pick up, drop off, travel and charge in whatever pattern makes the most sense for the entire system. For example, with multiple charging spots, they’ll have the flexibility to meet peaks in consumer demand across entire cities. Pad locations can be added simply, with the aircraft themselves used as the surveying tools to update and expand the network.

Wing Delivery Network’s automation makes it very easy to deploy and maintain. For businesses and other organisations, building drone delivery into the last mile can be as simple as ordering drones, turning them on and letting them connect to the network.

“Rather than focusing on a single aircraft or delivery, our pilots can oversee fleets of autonomous delivery drones to ensure they’re operating safely and efficiently. Wing Delivery Network can also automate compliance with regulation — each time a plane is turned on it checks that it’s in the right place, has the right software, and is ready and approved to fly,” Woodworth said.

The company will roll out elements of Wing Delivery Network capabilities over the next 12 months.

Image: Supplied