In a video shot in the outback of Queensland, Australia, Google have shown us their latest project. Hidden away in the search giant’s secretive research facility Google[x], the company have been hot on Amazon’s heels to develop delivery drones.
Nicholas Roy, the founder of what they’re calling ‘Project Wing’ says in the video “it’s years from a product but it’s the first prototype we want to stand behind.”
Dave Vos, Project Lead, described the next phase as moving towards “enabling the dream of delivering stuff more quickly”.
Amazon’s ‘Octocopter’ project was grounded by the US Federal Aviation Authority in June after the FAA released a document saying they wouldn’t allow the “model aircraft” to be operated to deliver “packages to people for a fee”. It is still illegal to use commercial drones in the US, though the FAA says they will revisit the issue.
Australia’s ‘remotely piloted aircraft’ laws are somewhat more permissive, hence the outback setting.
At the beginning of this year Google bought up a number of the world’s most advanced robotics companies – including Boston Dynamics, who develop robots for the US armed forces.
Is this the coming of the singularity? You decide, or, actually, Google’s military robots probably will.
