The Game of Drones: Personalised Delivery Services Are About To Become A Reality

Project Wing, an initiative developed by Alphabet, a conglomerate owned by Google, has conducted a multitude of test flights in a variety of controlled environments in order to bring about a personalised and reliable drone delivery service that will reach the backyards, rooftops, public parks, farmlands and difficult to reach areas in Australia.

Mexican food chain Guzman y Gomez and retail pharmacy chain Chemist Warehouse have been testing the possibility of drone deliveries in NSW and ACT, however, while the drones are proven reliable, the service is yet to become available for the general public.

Right now, Guzman y Gomez are figuring out how to engineer a process utilising technology to ensure the food is handled safely and quickly enough to be delivered to the customers still fresh. The pharmacy chain Chemist Warehouse, on the other hand, will need to look into devising an ultra-efficient process for the massive range of products that will be available for order. In the near future, drone deliveries will also be used in catastrophe relief situations to transport water, mechanical parts, and food and medical supplies to emergency service.

Despite the many benefits of a personalised delivery service, several countries are also looking into safety aspect - drones can be used to cause harm and snoop around military bases and other sensitive areas such as airports. To the unconventional issue, the governments of France and the Netherlands have come up with an unconventional solution – training eagles to take down drones, naturally.

The drone-hunting aves are being trained at the French Air Force base in the south west of France where they are born on top of drones and are kept there during early stages of feeding. Once ready to fly, they are brought to a field to intercept drones and if successful, they are rewarded with meat. The eagles are seen as a safe solution in comparison to using nets to capture or shooting down the unwelcome drones.

Written by:

Simona Zukaite

Simona joined Akolade and relocated to Sydney after eight years in Hong Kong where she worked for a leading media and publishing company producing legal and financial conferences in Asia-Pacific. Simona studied Law in the UK, Paris and Hong Kong and found her passion for events after working on an international arbitration law conference and moot trial competition in Hong Kong in 2012. The recent move is the next chapter of adventures Simona has sought to pursue in Australia following the running of an annual FX investment conference in Sydney for three consecutive years.