TOILET paper, cookies and coffee were delivered by Google drones amid the coronavirus pandemic in one Virginia town.
Christianburg residents are ordering from Wing, a pilot residential delivery service run by Google‘s parent company Alphabet, during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Forbes reports that the most requested items so far have been coffee, toilet paper and cookies as the townspeople find an innovative way to shop in safety.
Wing has been delivering Walgreens merchandise in Christianburg since October when it became the first residential drone delivery service in the US, thanks to a Federal Aviation Administration aircraft testing initiative.
After making 1,000 deliveries there over the past fortnight – and at test sites in Helsinki and two Australian cities – Wing spokesman Jacob Demmitt said that marks a “dramatic increase from our standard rates.”
He also highlighted the fact that you don’t have to tip a drone.
In Christianburg, a town of 22,000 people, small businesses are now also trialling the flying deliveries to stay above water during the pandemic, which has battered the US economy, killed over 16,000 Americans, and resulted in millions of layoffs.
Mockingbird Café owner Donna Speaks told the publication drone delivery customers bought around double the number of croissants, muffins and almond macarons they’d usually sell.
“Right now it’s a super great bonus for us,” Speaks told Forbes. “I think we’ll get back to normal faster through this.”
Wing’s Walgreens merchandise is stocked at a Wing facility, from which these nifty drones fly at a cruising altitude of 150 feet and a speed of 65 mph.
Forbes described how it descends to 23 feet and then lowers a cargo box up to three pounds, which is held with a rope.
Wing added pasta, pasta sauce and other meal-making items to its delivery spec as the lockdown continues and it is now servicing local eateries like Brugh Coffee.
Owner Luke Brugh said that he sold double the amount of his cold brew cans on Saturday via the delivery service than he would normally do on a daily basis.
Wing is currently not charging a delivery fee as it tries to figure out how to monetize the service.
Do you have a story for The US Sun team?
Email us at exclusive@the-sun.com or call 212 416 4552.
Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TheSunUS and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheSunUS.
