Walgreens, Google’s Wing Bring Store-to-Door Drone Deliveries to Dallas-Fort Worth – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth
In a few months, the residents of Frisco and Little Elm could be among the first to experience fast drone delivery for small packages within 10 minutes.
Walgreens and drone delivery company Wing on Wednesday announced plans to bring store-to-door delivery services in Dallas-Fort Worth and expand into populous metropolitan areas in the United States.
Jacob Demmitt is the US director of marketing and communications for Wing, who said Walgreens will be the first retailer to offer drone delivery services in a large US market.
“We’re starting with over-the-counter health products and medicines. We will offer snacks and food. “Said Demmit. “It takes around 10 minutes from the ordering process to the arrival of a package at your home. Our fastest delivery time of all time was two minutes and 47 seconds.”
The drones were delivered on Wednesday to Frisco Station, which will serve as one of the company’s facilities where the drones will be deployed. The other facility is located in the Walgreens Store on Eldorado Parkway. Initially, they will offer the drone delivery service for people who live within a radius of about six kilometers from both facilities.
“If you want to place an order, download the Wing app from the App Store or Google Play. You enter your address and the app will tell you immediately whether you are eligible or not, ie if you live in the service area and You have a good place at home where we can deliver the package, “explains Demmitt. “All we need is about the size of a picnic blanket. It has no bushes or overhanging trees, no power lines or anything. Just a nice place to drop the package. If you have permission, you can.” See catalogs and you can scroll through and choose what you want. Like any online shopping experience, you add it to your cart. “
General weather conditions in the Dallas-Fort Worth area helped the company’s decision to roll out the service in north Texas, but Demmitt said it was also looking into the aviation sector.
“So the opportunity to tap into the talent pool here was really crucial. When we got into the Dallas Fort Worth market, we looked around. We identified Frisco and Little Elm as leaders pretty quickly “the way they approach innovative projects like this,” he told NBC 5 on Wednesday. “There have been robot deliveries. There were self-driving cars in this area. There were all kinds of things. “
In preparation, test flights have been carried out at Hillwood’s AllianceTexas Flight Test Center since June. According to Mike Berry, President of Hillwood Properties, the drone test facility is north of Alliance Airport in Fort Worth.
“I got the chance to see the plane in operation. It’s an incredible sight. It’s amazing that they can actually pick up a package with such precision, move it several miles, and deliver it,” said Berry. “I think the people of North Texas will be amazed at how efficient this delivery system is. It won’t work for every product, but it certainly works … at least at this stage … with the smaller packages. “
Practical test flights in Frisco and Little Elm should begin in the next few weeks, according to Demmitt. They also plan to set up deployment demonstrations to get feedback from the community before rolling out the service in the coming months, he said.
“It’s convenient and faster, but it’s better for the environment. It’s safer for the community and then cheaper for the company,” he said. “It’s not a one-size-fits-all. It’s designed for small packages that are delivered locally, and we think it can be part of a broader intelligent transportation infrastructure.”
According to the Dallas Morning News, Wing holds a Part 135 certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration, which is required to operate such a service. UPS Flight Forward was the first company to receive the drone certification in 2019, and Amazon’s Prime Air received one last year.
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