Google Is Working On A Drone Delivery Service Called Project Wing

After Amazon teased the world with its talk of drone-delivery service Amazon Prime Air, Google X—the sci-fi-esque hush-hush lab that's given the world Glass and driverless cars—has been experimenting with a self-flying vehicle delivery service called Project Wing.

Google have been working on Project Wing for two years, but have gone public with it only recently. Using aircraft that have a wingspan of nearly five feet they've been testing the drones by delivering packages—first aid kits, water, candy and dog food—to farmers in remote parts of Queensland, Australia.

The white, fixed-wing vehicles can take off or land without the need for a runway just like a helicopter. And, unlike military drones which are controlled remotely, these are preprogrammed with a destination which they then fly on to without the need for someone controlling them on the ground.

As well as making deliveries to remote places and also being used commercially to deliver packages, Google envision the drones' main function to be dropping supplies to disaster-hit areas that have suffered from earthquakes or floods or whatever global warming throws at us.

Google's experimental project has got some way to go yet before it becomes an everyday reality, not least because flying drones in commercial airspace in the US is still illegal. But Google are hoping that, just like overnight delivery services have changed the world, being able to ferry something to someone in minutes and hours rather than days will begin a new epoch in couriering goods and supplies across states and cities.