Alphabet\u2019s Project Wing is taking the next step to deliver items to people\u2019s homes via drone, beginning a demonstration project this week in Australia with a Mexican food chain and a pharmacy company.<\/p>\n
Small drones will begin delivering actual purchases to backyards in rural areas, James Ryan Burgess, co-lead of Project Wing, said in a blog post Monday.<\/p>\n
Alphabet\u2019s effort underlines the difficulty in going from tests to reality. The drone\u2019s sensors will plot trees, fences and power lines from the sky before lowering the purchased items to the ground with a winch.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is more complicated than it looks,\u201d Burgess said.<\/p>\n
The tests are the latest development in the race to perfect a delivery system allowing near instant gratification after people make online purchases. Alphabet\u2019s drones delivered burritos to people on the campus of Virginia Tech last year, but the flights were across a field.<\/p>\n
Amazon.com delivered popcorn and one of the company\u2019s Fire TV devices to a home last December in England.<\/p>\n
Companies ranging from startup Flirtey to retail giant Wal-Mart Stores are also experimenting with the technology.<\/p>\n