Missing out on Thin Mints in the pandemic? A Google sister company is using drones to deliver Girl Scout cookies to people’s doorsteps in a Virginia community. The town of Christiansburg, Virginia, has been a testing ground for commercial delivery drones operated by Wing, a subsidiary of Google’s corporate parent Alphabet. Now the company is adding the iconic boxed cookies to the typical drone deliveries of drugstore products, locally-made pastries, tacos and cold brew coffees. Wing has been hauling these items and more to a thinly populated area of residential subdivisions since 2019. Wing said it began talking to local Girl Scout troops because they’ve been having a harder time selling cookies during the pandemic, when fewer people are out and about.
… Federal officials started rolling out new rules in early April that will allow operators to fly small drones over people and at night, potentially giving a boost to commercial use of the machines. Most drones will need to be equipped so they can be identified remotely by law enforcement officials.
… The 10-pound Wing drone that made the first deliveries in Christiansburg in fall 2019 is already an artifact held at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.
… Amazon has also been working on drone delivery for years.