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By John McCarthy | Opinion Editor

August 29, 2014 | 3 min read

Google is following retailer Amazon's footsteps into the drone industry, in a move which has seen the search engine giant testing drone package deliveries in Australia’s outback, as part of the top-secret initiative called Project Wing.

The drones were developed at the Google X labs where the firm’s wearable technology and automated car were also masterminded.

The automated crafts have a total wingspan of 1.5m on which there will be four electric propellers. They will follow pre-programmed flight routes although Google claims the drones slightly deviate from the course to account for heavy winds and other airborne vehicles.

During the field tests the Project Wing team delivered chocolate bars, dog treats and cattle vaccines to farmers in Queensland.

The idea, initially designed to quickly deliver defibrillators to heart attack victims, may also be used to deliver aid to far-reaching areas in record times.

Astro Teller, captain of Google X’s think tank, told the BBC: “Even just a few of these, being able to shuttle nearly continuously could service a very large number of people in an emergency situation.”

Google said the unmanned craft will be rolled out into widespread use in a few years, with the firm also looking into to drone consumer goods deliveries.

One speed bump for Google however is a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ban on use of the drones in the US with Amazon earlier this year having to lobby the agency for permission to field test its automated craft.

A Google spokesperson said: “Self-flying vehicles could open up entirely new approaches to moving goods - including options that are cheaper, faster, less wasteful and more environmentally sensitive than what's possible today.

“Throughout history, major shifts in how we move goods from place to place have led to new opportunities for economic growth and generally made consumers' lives easier.”

Adding: “From steam ships to the railroads, from the postal service to delivery services like FedEx and DHL, speed has reshaped society not only with greater convenience but also by making more goods accessible to more people.”

In April, Google acquired a drone delivery business with the primary goal of delivering internet services to isolated areas.

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