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News from Elf, a digital creative agency at the intersection of the arts and sciences.
Filtering by Tag: Google
"Artificial intelligence would be the ultimate version of Google. If we had the ultimate search engine, it would understand everything... It would understand exactly what you wanted and give you the right thing." — Larry Page
Wing has received Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) clearance and the same certification that smaller airlines receive, enabling the drone company to now offer regular deliveries of consumer items in Virginia. Google’s achievement comes ahead of expected drone delivery service by Amazon, and is a huge step forward for drone commerce. It opens the doors to Google providing direct delivery service to customers.
“It’s an exciting moment for us to have earned the FAA’s approval to actually run a business with our technology. ”
While drone regulations today do not allow flights over urban areas and crowds for safety, the FAA approval now allows Wing to delivery consumer goods in two areas in Virginia, with permission to expand to other regions. Wing has secured drone delivery approval in Finland and Canberra, Australia as well. Wing is the first company that meets FAA requirements for traditional charter airlines and smaller air cargo aircraft.
A Wing delivery drone sits on a charging pad in Blacksburg, Virginia. Photo credit: AP
To achieve the certification, Wing had to create a lot of documentation for processes, safety and training similar to an air carrier. To receive permission, a company has to be owned by American citizens for safety under requirements by the Department of Transportation. The application took several months and has deterred other drone companies due to its extensive, rigorous requirements. However, Wing’s application should make other drone company approval easier. Deliveries are expected to start in a few months. Currently, images and videos used for navigation are not archived and given concerns about noise and privacy from prior testing.
Current drone operation requirements issued in 2016 limit deliveries beyond the eyesight of a ground operator. Automated flights over longer distances are prohibited as well as accepting payment. To charge for services and to operate over a longer range, Wing had to become a full air carrier.
The local community has been excited about the new venture.
“Our community is very excited to be the birthplace of drone delivery in the United States.”
While Amazon’s Prime Air would speed up deliveries for its Prime members nationwide, Wing will sell products from local merchants mostly and is currently looking for local partners in Virginia. Currently, Wing has done research at Virginia Tech and is offering deliveries in the Blacksburg and Christiansburg areas of Virginia. The company has also done extensive testing in Australia, where it will be offering deliveries in the Canberra region.
The Wing drone is a hybrid between a helicopter and plane. It can lift off vertically and fly horizontally at a high speed. The drone carries packages underneath and lowers them to people with a tether, while hovering in the air at a safe distance.
Drone technology has rapidly advanced in recent years. Drone technology is faster, cleaner and costs less to transport items. Kyxz Mendiola, an inventor from the Philippines, modified drone technology to launch his own flying car prototype.
“To me, this is like the Wright Brothers. Now it is happening in a place where I was born and raised and where my family has lived for 200 years.”
Image via Apple
Health monitoring features may be coming to Air Pods but Apple faces some stiff competition from two other tech giants keen on getting a large share of the market, Amazon and Google. While Air Pods have been used on both Apple and Android devices, the devices are designed for iPhone use, enabling Siri use.
Image via Apple
Based on the various patents Apple has applied for pertaining to ear bud features and functionality including biometric sensors, new health-tracking AirPods could be used for detecting health data. The AirPods could possibly also integrate with the Apple Watch. Industry analysts expect that Apple may create AirPods with wireless charging support and a Bluetooth specification upgrade in early 2019.
Image via Apple
Both Amazon and Google are working on their own consumer devices with Goertek and Unitech to create their own AirPod-like earpieces. Both tech giants offer Apple stiff competition in the space given the dominance of their individual brands and Amazon’s powerful voice assistant service. Amazon and Google versions of AirPods are expected to ship in the second half of 2019, with 10 to 20 million units. AirPods are expected to ship in large numbers in 2019, with 55 million units, then up to 80 million by 2020, and as high as 110 million AirPods shipped by 2021.
