Burrito-dropping drones test deliveries to customers in rural Australia

Project Wing is using drone technology to deliver goods in rural Australia.

ByABC News
October 17, 2017, 3:04 PM
Project Wing drone carries a Guzman y Gomez food delivery in this undated photo.
Project Wing drone carries a Guzman y Gomez food delivery in this undated photo.
Guzman y Gomez

— -- X, the organization known as Google's "moonshot factory," announced Monday that is using drone technology to deliver burritos and over-the-counter medicines to rural communities in Australia.

Project Wing said is working in collaboration with communities and business partners in the Australian Capital Territory and New South Wales to test out drone deliveries to rural communities, James Ryan Burgess, the co-lead of the project, wrote on X's company blog.

PHOTO: A photo posted to the company's blog shows CEO of Australia's Guzman y Gomez restaurant chain waiting for a Project Wing drone to drop a hook in order to attach food during a burrito delivery test in Queanbeyan, Australia.
A photo posted to the company's blog shows CEO of Australia's Guzman y Gomez restaurant chain waiting for a Project Wing drone to drop a hook in order to attach food during a burrito delivery test in Queanbeyan, Australia.
PHOTO: A Project Wing drone delivers a burrito in Queanbeyan, Australia in an undated image posted to the X blog on Oct. 16, 2017.
A Project Wing drone delivers a burrito in Queanbeyan, Australia in an undated image posted to the X blog on Oct. 16, 2017.

In the blog post, Burgess wrote that Project X has partnered with Guzman y Gomez, a Mexican food chain, and Chemist Warehouse, a pharmacy chain, for deliveries to rural areas where people "face a 40-minute round trip in the car for almost anything.”

PHOTO: Founder and Global CEO of Guzman y Gomez Steven Marks stands next to the Drone Mothership base in this undated photo.
Founder and Global CEO of Guzman y Gomez Steven Marks stands next to the Drone Mothership base in this undated photo.

“Almost all said that they’d value having medicine delivered to their door, especially when they’re unwell,” wrote Burgess.

Some of those who have received burritos so far include alpaca farmers, artists, young families and retirees, Project Wing said, and they are listening to customers' comments on how to make the technology better.

PHOTO: Founder and Global CEO of Guzman y Gomez Steven Marks sends off food delivery with the drone in this undated photo.
Founder and Global CEO of Guzman y Gomez Steven Marks sends off food delivery with the drone in this undated photo.

One of the challenges that Project Wing said it faces in delivering straight to people's homes is customizing where the goods are dropped -- the drones must navigate trees and other objects to get to the right spot in people's yards. The solution, Burgess wrote, is developing algorithms that will allow the company to make safer deliveries.

“We’re grateful to the communities in the ACT and Queanbeyan regions who’ve let us into their yards, so we can learn even more about building a delivery network ready to fly in the open skies,” wrote Burgess.

Project Wing has made successful drone deliveries already, like last year's Chipotle deliveries to Virginia Tech students.

X, Guzman y Gomez and Chemist Warehouse have not responded to ABC News’ request for comment.