Drone delivery service Wing will launch a new, quieter aircraft in the Gungahlin region, the company announced today, responding to community feedback and an increase in demand.
Wing says the new drone model “almost halves” the sound levels from an overhead flight. It will be introduced into service gradually over the coming weeks.
“Having made thousands of deliveries to customers in Canberra over the last two years, we’ve also heard community feedback regarding noise and overflight of our drone in the neighbourhood, and we are committed to making improvements in response to their feedback,” said Wing spokesperson Jesse Suskin.
The local community has long held concerns about the drones being used for deliveries in suburban Canberra, and in 2018 a trial for the service in Tuggernaong was met with concerns over noise pollution and privacy.
The service was officially launched in North Canberra in April 2019, servicing the Gungahlin suburbs of Crace, Franklin, Palmerston, Harrison and Mitchell.
Wing is also planning to expand to additional suburbs in the Gungahlin region in the next few months and has begun delivery to select commercial spaces and workplaces.
“In 2021, use of our delivery service in Australia has continued to grow. In the first few months of 2021, we’ve already delivered more than 50% of the total number of orders delivered in Canberra in 2020,” said Mr Suskin.
He said as Wing expands it would continue to expand its product offering and provide services beyond residential areas, “making adjustments to our drone aircraft to increase our delivery range and provide noise mitigations for the community”.
Wing is a subsidiary of Google’s parent company, Alphabet Inc., and operates in Canberra, Brisbane, the US and Finland.
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