Google, JD.com reveal details of drone delivery plans

Google was recently granted a patent for its “mobile delivery receptacles” for its Project Wing program, while Chinese e-tailer JD.com has begun testing drone deliveries to the more remote rural areas of the country.    Google Inc. was granted a new patent last week that gives a glimpse of potential details of the ubiquitous technology company’s planned drone delivery program.
   The company first unveiled the Project Wing service in a YouTube video in 2014, but has revealed few details of its plan since then.
   Also filed in 2014, the new patent covers a “mobile delivery receptacle” that would receive packages from unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), also commonly referred to as drones, as a part of Google’s Project Wing program.
   The mobile delivery receptacles are essentially remote controlled boxes with wheels that sit on the ground. The receptacles communicate with the drones, guiding them with infrared beacons to the delivery location. Upon arrival, the drone would lower itself to ground level and transfer its load into the receptacle, which secures the parcel and moves itself to a secure location to wait for the recipient (or further ground transportation) to retrieve the package.
   The news comes just a few weeks after Dave Vos, head of Project Wing, said 2017 is still a realistic target start date for Google to begin drone deliveries, assuming the company can receive regulatory approval to do so.
   If the company does launch Project Wing in 2017, however, it appears Google won’t be the only one to utilize a drone delivery service.
   E-commerce giant Amazon plans to commence its own UAS program called Prime Air, which it claims will deliver parcels in just 30 minutes.
   And upstart Chinese e-tailer JD.com also recently announced plans to test drone deliveries to the more remote rural areas of the country.
   The Beijing-based company last week showed off a bright red prototype UAS with the JD.com logo that would carry small parcels to regions more difficult to reach by traditional shipping methods like trucking.
   Drone delivery could potentially “enhance the efficiency of logistics and distribution, saving labor costs,” while also providing a more efficient shopping experience to customers, the company said in a statement.
   Unlike its much larger rival Alibaba, which works primarily with outside transportation providers through its logistics affiliate Cainiao, JD.com has largely relied on its own logistics network, which includes dozens of warehouses, thousands of local delivery and pickup stations, and tens of thousands of delivery workers.