Finnish people will have the facility to use drones of Wing to transport their light-weight packages in near future.

Alphabet’s Wing drones may reach Europe any time in 2019. The idea behind these drones is to deliver light goods straight to the customer within minutes of being ordered. The Wing will be able to transport packages weighing up to 1.5 kilograms. As a competitor, Amazon has also been developing its drone delivery service called the ‘Prime Air Delivery’. However, Amazon’s drones are expected to launch in about 5 years from now.

Wing is already operational in Australia; its core tasks being delivering medicine and small supplies across the country. Finland was chosen as being the trial country for these drones because it is believed that Finnish people adopt new technologies rather quickly. A few surveys have been started to determine what products the people there would prefer to be delivered to them. So far, the popular picks have been breakfast, lunch, medicine, and household essentials. The authorities at Wing talked about the adapting abilities of Finnish people in the following words:

“Finns are internationally renowned for being early-adopters of new technologies, and we’re looking forward to working with the community and local businesses to find the best way to implement our services in the Helsinki area. Based on what we know about the winter weather in Finland, we’re pretty confident that if our drones can deliver here, they can deliver anywhere.”

During the trial period, there will be no delivery charges. Customers will be able to use a smartphone application to place orders from anywhere. This trial is important for the tech giants to prove that these drones are safe and reliable. Wing promises that the drones will be more efficient and environment-friendly than the traditional delivery methods. However, the announcement has raised certain questions such as ‘Will people want noisy drones delivering goods all day long?’ In contrast to that, the parent company behind the drones (Alphabet) promises that the drones will be beneficial in every single way.

The Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) of Wing maps the routes for the drones. UTM is also responsible for planning the take-offs and landings for the drones. UTM will also take into account obstacles such as walls, trees, and buildings in real time. These drones will allow smaller businesses to compete with giants like Amazon. CEO of Wing, James Ryan Burgess, explained their plans and said,

“Today a recipient is charged a delivery fee, but so is the merchant. Our aim is to provide a service at a cost lower for both. We think single numbers of dollars will be the likely amount an order will cost when it is commercially live. This shows a lot of confidence in to drive forward. As a separate company, we will have to show business viability. And we are excited about the future.”

The drones are quite generic when it comes to the core structure. Each drone is about a meter wide and weighs around five kilograms. The maximum distance the drone can traverse on a single charge is 20 kilometers. The drones are also equipped with a viewing camera, a GPS system, and a downward facing camera to serve as a backup in case the GPS system falters. Wing claims its drones are running on clean electric power and have no emissions whatsoever. The company has been partnering with local businesses to make the drone delivery setup even more effective. A Wing spokesperson clarified their intentions by saying,

“We would like to introduce a service in Greater Helsinki this spring based on Finns’ preferences. We’re asking them to tell us what they want us to deliver on a new section of our website, at wing.com/finland.”

Wing has already deployed prototype Hummingbird drones, which do not land, but instead lower packages attached to a string. Finland is fast becoming a test area for technology giants. Following suit, many other companies such as Uber and Alibaba have started to look into using drones. This is not the first time Wing is testing drones. However, this is the first time Wing is attempting to enter the European market.

Although Wing has faced several failures in the US, it seems to have learned from them and is attempting to lift off again. It is not clear so far, whether Google/Alphabet will remain the sole financial supporter of Wing or will the company look for other investment opportunities.