Urban Mobility
Alphabet, the parent company of Google, recently scrapped plans to partner with Starbucks to deliver coffee using drones. Alphabet had previously tested delivery of the coffee chain’s products as part of its Project Wing pilot program. The tests used hybrid vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) drones that hover in place and lower their cargo to the ground on a rope. According to Bloomberg.com,
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Alphabet Inc. ’s Google has quietly opened its Waze ride-sharing service to San Francisco-area users, expanding a pilot program and confirming the company’s interest in the lucrative ride-hailing industry. Smartphone users in the San Francisco area now can download a mobile app called Waze Rider to request rides to and from work from drivers using Google’s popular Waze navigation app.
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Google parent Alphabet Inc. plans this month to use drones to deliver burritos to a small number of staff and students at Virginia Tech, a limited test of the tech giant’s ambitious plans to quicken deliveries with unmanned aircraft. In the tests, drones from Alphabet’s research lab, X, will ferry burritos from a Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. food truck to
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As Uber Technologies Inc. turns away from China, a competitor is raising funds to cement its dominance in Southeast Asia and fend off the tech titan based in San Francisco. Uber’s decision to sell its China business to Didi Chuxing Technology Co. is giving Singapore-based Grab renewed confidence it can take on Uber and win on its home turf. Grab
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