A drone, while in the midst of delivering food to a customer, attempted a “precautionary controlled landing” in Brisbane, Australia, only to crash into overhead powerlines and erupt in flames. The incident left thousands of homes in the neighborhood without electricity. A drone from Wing, a subsidiary of Google’s parent company Alphabet Inc., landed on top of 11,000 volts.
The crash caused a 45-minute power outage to some 2,000 individuals.
“We’re sorry for any inconvenience caused. We’re currently conducting a review of yesterday’s event,” a Wing spokesperson said. Energy company Energex reacted to the event and shut down the network in order to bring it back online. more
Loretta Lynn passed away today
Well, at least the food was hot.
Just a question: doesn’t someone have to control the drone? If so, then it doesn’t save on labor costs. I imagine it saves on energy costs because a vehicle is not being driven. I guess it also saved a lot of energy considering all the people without power for 45 minutes.
^^^”Wing’s drones can fly autonomously”
Well, ‘fly autonomously’ as long as power lines aren’t in the way…
I hope the power company sent the bill to Google.
…but did this keep the food hot?
RadioMattM,
No, I know Amazon drones are able to act independently. They do have no-fly zones and dangerous areas excluded from the routes. The company is also supposed to monitor hazardous conditions (weather, etc.) and re-route or postpone deliveries.
I do not know if power lines are included in the drone programming, and while I was working on the program, nothing was mentioned.
nm, refuse/resist answered my question before I even asked it.
I’m surprised the drone didn’t “see” the power lines as an obstacle. Many drones have obstacle avoidance while running autonomously and even while being controlled. I guess horizontal lines don’t count!
Controlled landing? I beg to differ. All landings are a controlled crash.
Remember when you went out to eat because you liked and supported the folks that ran the restaurant? At home I have a freezer and a microwave.
Instead of drones, why don’t they try delivering by trebuchet? I’m picturing cans of Spaghettios hurling across neighborhoods.
Get use to it. Future headline…Flying car hits delivery drone crashes into crowd killing five including the driver.
I suppose the drone is now fully charged?