Drones to robots: Pandemic fuels U.S. autonomous delivery | Big Story 10 - Reuters

Carey L. Biron, Thomson Reuters Foundation Journalist reports, Cough medicine, snacks, baking ingredients: Kelly Passek has shopping delivered weekly to her yard in Christiansburg, Virginia - by a drone.

Photo: Pexels

The flying vehicle comes with little fuss, hovering briefly over her yard and letting down its package. “It’s very fast – even the noise you hear is no more than 30 seconds,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

The service is a pilot project by Google parent Alphabet Inc’s drone delivery business Wing, which is operating similar projects in Finland and Australia...

The pandemic also got Passek, a public school librarian, thinking beyond the confines of her home, as her school system changed to distance learning in March, raising concerns about how students would get required resources - including books.

After talks with Wing, a book delivery service began for county students in June.

“This is a perfect way to get our students the resources they need and also keep with our social distancing,” she said, adding the programme is likely to continue as county officials figure out how to re-open schools in the fall. 
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Source: Reuters