They seek to change the logistics sector through drones

Google is working on a program to automate the delivery of packages and the distribution of materials, which would change the logistics sector.

Google announced that it is currently working on services such as freight transport, an activity that the search engine company plans to automate thanks to a hitherto secret initiative called Project Wing.

The above refers to an internal program with which he hopes to reduce the costs of distribution and expand the reach of businesses logistics exchanging vans and motorcycles for unmanned aerial vehicles of an intelligent nature, capable of reaching areas that are not yet paved.

The project will be led by Nick Roy, a robotics expert from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), who explained that Project Wing is much more than a quadcopter drone with a cargo bay, since instead of having four thrust blades vertical, the developed robot has an anomalous design in the industry, reminiscent of the first prototypes of vertical take-off aircraft that Germany experimented with during World War II and later the United States in the days of the Cold War.

For all practical purposes, Google vehicles are conventional aircraft with a design similar to that of a single-wing type airplane. The peculiarity of these drones lies in the fact that they can perform an extremely tight ascent maneuver and then use their rotors to remain in a static position on a fixed point, Roy pointed out.

He added that if the drone is sophisticated, the loading and unloading system is no less so. Since the vehicles don't land on the ground to drop off the package like Amazon's drones do, Project Wing drops its payload using a rope. At the bottom end, next to the package, is a sensor unit called Egg.

This module is capable of detecting the rate of fall and adjusting it, so that when there are only a few meters left to touch the ground, the system brakes the descent so that the load settles smoothly.

Additionally, it also has another singularity: it can know when a package falls on a bush or a roof. If it estimates that the height does not correspond to the delivery data, it sends a signal to the drone so that it moves far enough before releasing the load and picking up the towrope. Once the delivery is made, the device returns to the base, he explained.

The control software for this is an autopilot system developed by Google and would allow a single person to supervise a fleet made up of multiple drones, taking control of them only when necessary.

However, the legislation that regulates the use of drones is totally different depending on the country, so Google is currently conducting its tests in Australia, where drones do not have as many restrictions as in other countries. In the meantime, the company hopes that governments will adjust their logistics industry laws.