- Google has been working on Project Wing for two years
- Has already tested system in Australia
- Hybrid 'tail sitter' design has wings for fast forward flight, and rotors for hovering for delivery and take-off and landing
- Goal to develop drones that could be used for disaster relief
- Could also deliver goods in urban areas
Google has built and tested self flying drones designed to deliver packages.
Called Project Wing, it is being developed at Google X, the company's secret research lab, which is also developing its self-driving car and Glass wearable computer.
The firm says the drones could eventually be used for disaster relief by delivering aid to isolated areas - and for package delivery.
They will fly a programmed route with just the push of a button, and they'll follow rules to respond safely if they run into unexpected situations like a gust of wind, Google says.
The project was originally envisaged by Google boss Sergey Brin as a way to deliver defibrillators to heart attack victims, but has since been expanded.
'Even just a few of these, being able to shuttle nearly continuously could service a very large number of people in an emergency situation,' Astro Teller, Captain of Moonshots - Google X's name for big-thinking projects,
HOW IT WORK
Project Wing's aircraft have a wingspan of approximately 1.5m (4.9ft) and have four electrically-driven propellers.
The total weight, including the package to be delivered, is approximately 10kg (22lb).
The aircraft itself accounts for the bulk of that at 8.5kg (18.7lb).
The hybrid 'tail sitter' design has wings for fast forward flight, and rotors for hovering for delivery and vertical take-off and landing.
Dual mode operation gives the self-flying vehicle some of the benefits of both planes and helicopters.
It can take off or land without a runway, and can hold its position hovering in one spot to gently drop packages.
Packages are stored in the drone's 'belly' then dropped on a string before being gently lowered to the ground.
At the end of the tether, there's a little bundle of electronics the team call the 'egg,' which detects that the package has hit the ground, detaches from the delivery, and is pulled back up into the body of the vehicle.
