Google parent company Alphabet is partnering with fast casual chain Chipotle to test drone delivery for Virginia Tech students. The pilot program will mark a turning point for Alphabet's Project Wing division that will give the team enough room to test with airborne burrito deliveries in one of the first unique corporate programs to be green lit by the US Federal Aviation Authority.
According to a report from Bloomberg , the drones, which will be hybrid aircraft that can fly and at the same time hover in place, will make deliveries coordinated by a Chipotle food truck on campus.
During an interview with Bloomberg, Project Wing head Dave Vos noted this as the first time that they are actually out there delivering stuff to people who want that stuff. Various drone delivery testing in the US has been tightly restricted by the FAA, which has often been slow-moving and prohibitive when issuing rules around unmanned aerial vehicles.
According to The Verge, In June, the FAA removed the requirement insisting that drone pilots must have a pilot's license. The organization is however, yet to lay out an easy pathway for companies such as Amazon and Google to move on with semi-autonomous delivery drones.
Initially, Alphabet tested Project Wing in Australia, and Amazon recently launched a pilot program for its Prime Air drone delivery service in the UK.
Now, days after gaining approval from the White House last month, Google is prepared to partner with a national restaurant chain for one of the more ambitious real-world delivery programs. The Project Wing drones will be directed predominantly by software, but human pilots will be on hand to assume control if necessary.
The aircraft have been prohibited from flying directly over human beings. And according to Alphabet, this will shield active participants appropriately.
Project Wing chose to work with Chipotle arguing that it presented unique challenges like; could a drone deliver food using a winch system adequately, and can the food remain hot throughout?
Timothy Sands, the Virginia Tech's president said the idea sounded simple, but it is not. "A lot of things are needed to work out from a safety perspective to a policy point of view."
The program will be made accessible to select Virginia Tech students and employees
All the parties that will take place in this new technology stand to achieve something from the project. Virginia Tech which is a part of the Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership, is been chosen as of six schools to be used as a testing ground for commercial drone use, GizModo reported.
Virgin Tech school hopes these types of pilot programs will enable it became a leader in new transportation technologies, like drone delivery.
Project Wing, on the other hand, will be able to get important data to help it come up with a second-generation version of its aircraft and also hone its automated flight system and delivery mechanisms.
Project Wing team is one of many working in conjunction with NASA to develop a state-of-art air traffic control system for UAVs.
The FAA is expected to also use the data Project Wing generates to advance its commercial drone guidelines.
Lastly, the students will get burritos ferried to them in the sky, a dorm room dream come true.
Watch the New FAA Regulations on Commercial Drone Use here: