Wing, the drone delivery arm of Alphabet, and retail giant Walmart are teaming up on a drone delivery project in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas metroplex.
The deal will start with two Walmart Supercenters where consumers will be able to order a range of products via drone delivery like meals, groceries, household items and medicines. More retail shops may be expanded later.
Wing said the deal with Walmart is a major milestone as it expands delivery operations globally. The company has been delivering in Logan City, Australia, for years and debuted its first rooftop delivery system last year. It also began a rooftop delivery service in Europe.
The Walmart deal comes after last year when Wing opened its first drone services in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas. That service at the time was billed as the first metro drone delivery service in the state with operations co-located and integrated with local retail businesses including Walgreens.
Eligible homes will be about 6 miles from the stores and the drones are automated, allowing operators to oversee the system from a remote location but are not needed to be stationed at stores. The drones will operate in the early morning to early evening hours, six days a week.
Wing said deliveries take about 30 minutes or less with the drones flying at 65 mph and they use a tether to deliver the items from the air to the ground for both urban and suburban environments.
