by Ty Tagami | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA — They will not be dropping packages down your chimney, but unmanned air couriers will be able to deliver to your lawn in time for Christmas, if you live near one of six Walmart Supercenters in the suburbs that ring Atlanta.
Walmart announced the new service with partner Wing on Wednesday. In addition to metro Atlanta, the two will be rolling out drone deliveries in Charlotte, Houston, Orlando and Tampa.
They say they plan to reach a hundred stores in a year, after piloting the service at 18 locations in Dallas-Fort Worth.
“The popularity of drone delivery in DFW is a testament not just to its convenience, but to the way this technology quickly becomes a part of everyday life,” Wing CEO Adam Woodworth said in a statement.
The partnership is billing this as the first commercial drone delivery service in metro Atlanta. Yet illegal air deliveries are already commonplace to certain shady customers in Georgia. On Monday, state corrections officials lamented at a legislative hearing how drones had become a security threat, routinely penetrating the airspace over prisons to deliver contraband to inmates.
And driverless Waymo cars are already an everyday sight in Atlanta, where they have been delivering people to destinations since the summer.
But the new pilotless air shipping promises to give Christmas procrastinators who live within delivery range another chance to buy last-minute stocking stuffers, plus seasonal essentials such as wrapping paper and ingredients for holiday meals.
Wing says its 12-pound, white and yellow drones can range up to six miles at a cruising speed of 60 mph, delivering packages in five minutes. Besides quicker delivery, the company says communities stand to benefit when fewer packages move by road: less traffic would be a gift to everyone.
The six Georgia Walmart locations with drones will be in Conyers, Dallas, Hiram, Loganville, McDonough and Woodstock. (Check your address eligibility at wing.com/walmart).
