CAP Talk

Operations => Aviation & Flying Activities => Topic started by: Eclipse on August 29, 2014, 10:01:01 PM

Title: Project Wing - Google's entry into Autonomous Delivery
Post by: Eclipse on August 29, 2014, 10:01:01 PM
Introducing Project Wing (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRTNvWcx9Oo#ws)

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/08/inside-googles-secret-drone-delivery-program/379306/?single_page=true (http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/08/inside-googles-secret-drone-delivery-program/379306/?single_page=true)

(http://cdn.theatlantic.com/newsroom/img/posts/2014/08/thedrop/b55791b9f.jpg)

"A zipping comes across the sky.

A man named Neil Parfitt is standing in a field on a cattle ranch outside Warwick, Australia. A white vehicle appears above the trees, a tiny plane a bit bigger than a seagull. It glides towards Parfitt, pitches upwards to a vertical position, and hovers near him, a couple hundred feet in the air. From its belly, a package comes tumbling downward, connected by a thin line to the vehicle itself. Right before the delivery hits the ground, it slows, hitting the earth with a tap. The delivery slows, almost imperceptibly, just before it hits the ground, hardly kicking up any dust. A small rectangular module on the end of the line detaches the payload, and ascends back up the vehicle, locking into place beneath the nose. As the wing returns to flying posture and zips back to its launch point half a mile away, Parfitt walks over to the package, opens it up, and extracts some treats for his dogs.

The Australian test flight and 30 others like it conducted in mid-August are the culmination of the first phase of Project Wing, a secret drone program that's been running for two years at Google X, the company's whoa-inducing, long-range research lab."


An interesting solution to the "landing problem".  Much of the stuff I get from Shenzhen could work on this no problem, especially for the last mile.
Title: Re: Project Wing - Google's entry into Autonomous Delivery
Post by: Check Pilot/Tow Pilot on August 29, 2014, 11:19:33 PM
I wonder how it captures signature required :)
Title: Re: Project Wing - Google's entry into Autonomous Delivery
Post by: PHall on August 30, 2014, 01:04:25 AM
Looks like a nice skeet target to me! >:D
Title: Re: Project Wing - Google's entry into Autonomous Delivery
Post by: Luis R. Ramos on August 30, 2014, 03:01:55 AM
Second the motion... pity that I never learned to shoot skeet, nor do I own a shotgun...