Google's parent company Alphabet will conduct a test flight of its Project Wing drone delivery initiative in the US after receiving approval from the White House.
As part of the test, Project Wing will conduct an operational research study at one of the six US Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) test sites.
The test is aimed at achieving operational experience of Project Wing’s delivery service in a safe testing environment and ensure safe integration of small UAS (sUAS) in the layer of airspace under 400ft.
The White House stated that data collected from the test will be shared with government partners to help regulators address critical safety and human factors issues for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) cargo delivery operations.
Project Wing’s proposed testing will cover operations with external cargo loads and to build towards beyond line-of-sight (BLOS) capabilities.
Alphabet will also begin to develop and deploy an open-interface, airspace management solution for safe low-altitude sUAS operations using existing technologies.
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By GlobalDataThe White House has approved the initiative while unveiling a series of strategies supported by public and private involvement to promote the safe integration of unmanned aircraft systems across the country.
Another company called Zipline International has also been allowed to conduct test delivery of medical supplies by drone.
The White House has also stated that retail drone delivery start-up Flirtey will partner with International Medical to focus on humanitarian applications for drone delivery.
An total of $35m will be provided by the White House to the National Science Foundation (NSF) over the next five years to know how to design, control and apply UAS to various applications, including monitoring and inspection of physical infrastructure, smart disaster response, agricultural monitoring, study of severe storms, and others.
New York will also provide $5m to support the growth of the emerging unmanned aircraft systems industry across the state.
It is estimated that the growing drone industry will generate more than $82bn for the US economy and could add as many as 100,000 new jobs by 2025.
