Alphabet Will Begin Testing Project Wing Delivery Drones In the US (theguardian.com)

An anonymous reader writes: Google's parent company, Alphabet, has been granted permission by the White House on Tuesday to start testing its Project Wing delivery drones in the U.S. The Guardian reports: "The drones will be tested in one of six designated Federal Aviation Authority areas within the U.S. as part of the government's initiative to promote research into unmanned flight and safety legislation. The announcement was made alongside a pledge from the U.S. National Science Foundation to spend $35m (26 million British Pound) over the next five years on drone research, and comes a month after the U.S. government green-lit commercial drone flights, but with restrictions around line-of-sight control that made automated drone delivery infeasible. The tests will help shape U.S. legislation around the types of automated flying systems that Amazon and Alphabet hope to use to delivery goods and services via air, and establish requirements for unmanned pilot licenses."

Comments

research another word for a legal monopoly?

[sittingnut]

seems odd that particular companies(big supporters of president and his party) are named to conduct this "research" instead of giving open guidelines that anyone can follow.
if and when drone operations are fully allowed, these companies, will have a huge advantage over competition. in addition to established infrastructure, they, if above statements are correct, will in effect have a big say win final regulations.

btw why is "white house" involved at all?

Re:research another word for a legal monopoly?

[ScentCone]

btw why is "white house" involved at all?

Because the FAA, which is part of the DoT, is a regulatory agency that is run by a political appointee who answers to the president, who runs the executive branch of the government from the White House. If you want to do something that violates regulations, you've got to the someone in the executive branch to get you a waiver so you don't go to jail. Or, you could lobby congress to pass a law that forces the executive branch to change the way that regulatory agency interacts with you (and everyone else who does what you do), but unless you get the law passed with a large majority in the legislature, that guy in the White House can still simply shut it down. And, as the current executive has said many times, he's happy to "use his pen" to change the application of the law or to cherry-pick enforcement of the law as it suits his agenda. Clear?

So tell me again

[rsilvergun]

how automation & robotics isn't a threat to jobs?

Re:So tell me again

[ThatsMyNick]

It is. Cars were a threat to jobs, when it was introduced and commoditized too. There were many attempts to outlaw it. It doesnt mean humanity is better off with cars, than without.

Or you, know you can always become Amish and drive a horse pulled carriage. You would be free of those pesky job killing robots too.

lamerish design

[Anonymous Coward]

This thing has a rather stupid construction: a flying wing with suspended payload.

A minute change in the centre of mass will send this thing tumbling in mid-air.

I bet, it was made those $100 an hour "innovative" javascript kiddies from Google X

Ludicrous design

[fubarrr]

This thing has a rather stupid construction: a flying wing with suspended payload. A minute change in the centre of mass will send this thing tumbling in mid-air. I bet, it was made those $100 an hour "innovative" javascript kiddies from Google X. Doing something properly is simply not their style

Jetsons

[Anonymous Coward]

The Jetsons had the flying cars following seemingly fixed paths in the sky. I wonder if some of this autonomy could be made more acceptable by flying permitted paths. That way you could more easily monitor those paths, possibly with yet more drones. When possible the paths would be over underpopulated areas.

It might be possible to have a safety system that simply checks, "Am I I following a permitted path? No? Alert the relevant authorities. Coordinate safe retrieval."

So if you're rich you can do dangerous shit?

[Anonymous Coward]

This whole "drone" fad is clueless morons trying to do something they don't understand. Typical "under-25" dumbassery that normally can be dismissed, but these days. Fucking hell. Millennials are dipshits that don't deserve any view on this whatsoever. They are so clueless that HBO should make a movie about them.

how will I identify myself to the drone?

[Anonymous Coward]

How will the drone know to deliver the package to me, and not to someone else who happens to be around?
How about surprise gifts sent to friends who don't expect them?

If you buy a drone from Google....

[Anonymous Coward]

...will another drone drop it off or will it fly itself to your house?

GOOGLE IS US GOVERNMENT IS ALPHABET SPY

[Anonymous Coward]

First it was Amazon, now Google (but with a sneak name corporation)

How it really works is US Government spy agencies bankrupted your country with shams schemes lies 9/11 WTC and a bunch of other help-themselves-to-your-labor gimmicks.

If you have swarms of remote control drones all you have to do is either directly spy or put Amazon or Google stickers on the drone and bingo you now have spy drones.

Google is treason. Eric Schmidt needs to be beat down. The only reason he isn't is because the US Gov think they can punk the citizens of USA. They locked up most of the people with any heart at all and left faggot-world. That is you mother fuckers rollin desks.

Right now they are deciding if it will be Jesuit or Jew to pillage the next country using America's military. If you decide for it to be Trump or Sanders it will be an Israel run satellite country. Their country exists under a missile shield. Do you think it wise for USA to be run by a country under a missile shield? China is probably not fond of it nor is Russia. You ready to be prostitutes in a torn up third world wasteland hovered over by Amazon and Google drones that aren't?

They want your guns too. If you let the female candidate be elected you will have more of the same Obama CIA puppeteering, while the Jews continue to make a mess with the media and Hollywood. Every movie coming out right now is merely a platform to push the Jewish agenda as normalcy. It is not even sneaky. The movie Beta Test I could not even watch. It starts out with how safe you will be without guns. This is the shit that your children watch and their opinions are formed by casual entertainment, seeing it as norm.

If you thought Brokeback Mountain was bad to American culture... what they push now is all fucking garbage. I suggest do not even let your kids watch a movie made after 2012. The pumping of of minorities as heroes just confuses America. It is the Jewish divide and conquer method but it is too stupid to not notice.