Alphabet Launches Drone Delivery in Dallas-Fort Worth Area

Google parent company Alphabet will launch its drone delivery company, Wing, in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex area on April 7.

According to Wing, operations will start small as the drones begin by delivering small products from select stores to the people who live in the nearby cities of Frisco and Little Elm. Not everyone in the Dallas-Fort Worth area will able to use the service on day 1, but Wing does have plans to expand.

On launch day, Wing Drones will only deliver four different types of products from four locations: health products from a local Walgreens, ice cream from Blue Bell Creameries, pet medicine from easyvet Veterinarian, and first aid kits from Texas Health.

The current model is invite-only, as only a few people in the Dallas-Fort Worth area will be eligible to sign up for drone delivery. These invites will roll out in the coming months as Wing hopes for smooth growth.

The drones will be housed in a container adjacent to the business, like the rooftop or parking lot. You place an order online, an employee gathers the order, hooks it up to the drone, and off it goes. The drones fly with a combination of GPS and a pilot of sorts.

The drones fly by themselves to their destination but have handlers at Wing HQ overseeing everything. These people step in if something goes wrong during delivery.

Wing has expressed interest in expanding into more densely-populated areas around the US but did not indicate when and which cities.