It's important to know where you're going before setting out on any adventure. But for drone pilots, there's another, more important thing they need to know before they can take to the skies, and that is: "can I even go there?"
Answering that question should now be simpler thanks to OpenSky, an app released that was released Tuesday to U.S.-based app stores by Alphabet's (NASDAQ: GOOGL) drone delivery venture, Wing.
Not only will the app make it clear if you can go there, but it will also make it easier to ask for permission when you can't.
Once downloaded, you pick your proximate flight location, and the app provides a checklist letting you know if flying in that area is allowed under Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rules.
Within the app, the sky looks like a patchwork of white, red, and yellow.
The white signifies areas where few if any flight restrictions apply. Red indicates no-go zones, which usually surround military bases, airports, and other critical infrastructure. OpenSky will also alert users in real time about new restrictions which could result from emergencies like wildfires. Meanwhile, the yellow areas on the map indicate places where Wing can automatically grant what's known as Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability from the FAA, which will allow drone pilots to fly over areas that are usually off-limits.
Wing sees building out an app that makes it easier for operators to fly safely and legally goes hand in hand with their vision of a widespread delivery drone network.
"With nearly two million registered drones in the U.S. already, regulatory compliance of all drones will allow them to share the sky safely," the company said in a blog post. "Moreover, compliance will ultimately expand the uses and benefits of drones-among them emergency response, commercial inspections and contactless delivery-to more people."
In July 2019, Wing graduated from Google's moonshot incubator to become an official independent Alphabet company. Since then, Wing has developed a small, albeit widespread drone delivery network currently spanning select parts of Australia, Finland, and the United States. According to Alphabet, Wing's autonomous network has completed more than 100,000 deliveries without incident.
Wing is just one of seven companies with consumer-facing products that are currently allowed to give LAANC authorization on behalf of the FAA. As drone adoption accelerates and the need for a centralized tracking system becomes all the more apparent, no doubt more companies will enter the fray. Wing already faces direct competition from the likes of Airmap Inc and aerospace titan Airbus S.E (OTC: EADSY).
But as an Alphabet subsidiary, Wing has access to the nearly bottomless pit pockets, troves and troves of data, and the decades of mapping expertise of its parent company. Such advantages could help Wing take off ahead of its competitors.
In the meantime, Wing has been petitioning the FAA since April to allow the firm to organize flights from a central hub which would enable Wing's delivery network to cover a larger area.
Wing's petition also cites the company's excellent safety record thus and asks that the FAA reduce the frequency of line checks from once every three months to once every 12.