Google: Delivery Drones Could Be A Reality By 2017

In the race to fill the skies with commercial drones, Google X Labs, the technology research arm of newly-formed company Alphabet, is throwing a potential date for when it could possibly start operating a drone delivery powered by its own drones: packages could be falling from above by 2017, says the company’s drone project leader.

Dave Vos brought up 2017 as an estimated goal for drone deliveries as a response to an audience question during his keynote speech Monday at the Air Traffic Control Association’s annual conference in Maryland, reports MarketWatch.

A Tweet earlier this month from Aaref Hilaly, a partner with Sequoia Capital, showed a Google X drone delivering a package in Arizona, and noted that the unmanned aerial vehicles can fly five miles in five minutes. That speed and versatility would be ideal in disaster relief situations.

Floating a date doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll see Google drones buzzing around the neighborhood by 2017, of course. Back in 2013, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos predicted drone delivery would be a reality as early as 2015, and as you will notice, that hasn’t happened yet.

For Google X, Amazon, Walmart or any other company with sights set on drone delivery, there’s still one major hurdle: the Federal Aviation Administration hasn’t yet set firm rules regarding commercial drone operation, despite passing a Sept. 30, 2015 deadline set by Congress. Rules are now expected sometime in the middle of next year.

Google says it could make drone deliveries happen by 2017 [MarketWatch]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist