Calling all Thin Mints fans! Girl Scout Thin Mints cookies can now be delivered right to your doorstep – by drone… IF you live in Christiansburg, Virginia. The town has been a testing arena for commercial drone delivery by Wing (a subsidiary of Alphabet, Google’s parent company). Before Girl Scout Thin Mints, starting in 2019, drugstore products, FedEx packages, local pastries, tacos, and cold brew coffees have been delivered by drone to residents of this community.
During the pandemic, Wing and the Girl Scout troops started discussing the lower number of cookie sales, due to the low percentage of the public visiting storefronts. That discussion led to an entirely new format for selling cookies. One young Girl Scout of Virginia Skyline Troop 224 said, “I’m excited that I get to be a part of history. People are going to realize and be, like, ‘Hey, this is better for the environment and I can just walk outside in my pajamas and get cookies.’”
Wing’s drones are able to autonomously navigate, powered by two forward propellers on their wings and 12 smaller vertical propellers. When one of these drones reaches its destination, it hovers above as a tether releases, dropping the package.
This is yet another attempt at bridging the gap between drone capabilities and negative public perception of drones. After all, Thin Mints can be a pretty persuasive tool.
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