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Google’s parent company, Alphabet, was awarded a certificate on Nov. 25 by the US Federal Aviation Administration to pilot up to 20 drones at a time. Alphabet’s “moonshot” research division, X, runs the program known as Project Wing, with the ultimate goal of making commercial deliveries in the US a reality.
Widespread commercial drone delivery is still a ways away, but this is a first step in setting up a regulatory framework that Alphabet can eventually use to set up a delivery-drone service.
Alphabet’s permission to fly comes with some caveats: The pilot must keep the drones flying below 200 ft, in line of sight at all times, and near a private airfield in Merced, California.
Last year, former Project Wing leader Dave Vos said that the company aimed to start delivering food and packages with drones in 2017. Whether this certificate will help Alphabet get closer to its goal remains very much up in the air.
—Mike Murphy
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