The Department of Justice and more than a dozen states have filed a lawsuit against Apple in the US federal court, accusing the company of violating antitrust laws. It says Apple's hardware and software products are largely inaccessible to competitors, making it difficult for rivals to compete and for customers to switch to other companies' products. The lawsuit comes after the European Commission fined Apple 1.8 billion ( 1.95 billion) for stopping music-streaming developers from "informing iOS users about alternative and cheaper music subscription services available" outside the App Store. The DOJ suggests Apple used its control over iOS to block innovative apps and cloud streaming services from the public. The suit also suggests Apple has obstructed rival payment platforms, made it harder for Android messages to appear on iPhones and restricted how competing smartphones integrated with iOS devices.

DoorDash just announced the launch of a drone delivery pilot program, in partnership with Alphabet's Wing. The testing began in Christiansburg, VA (approximate population 22,000), and is limited to only "eligible items" from fast food chain Wendy's. Whether that includes the iconic Frosty dessert/fry condiment is as yet unclear. There's only one affiliated Wendy's location, but local consumers should see a "deliver by drone" tab on the DoorDash checkout page. The company says orders should arrive in 30 minutes or less, making high-flying drones about as fast as a standard pizza delivery in the 1980s.

A California-based company is developing a new drone for delivery services. Drone delivery is the way of the future, revolutionizing the speed and convenience of getting products and food right to your doorstep. Just ask Paul and Susie Sensmeier who've already used it over 1,200 times. CLICK TO GET KURT'S FREE CYBERGUY NEWSLETTER WITH SECURITY ALERTS, QUICK TIPS, TECH REVIEWS AND EASY HOW-TO'S TO MAKE YOU SMARTER They are early adopters of Wing's drone delivery service. The married couple from Virginia in their 80s have been using the drone delivery service since 2019, and now it's the only way they want to shop.

Alphabet's Wing division has teamed up with DoorDash to deliver some convenience and grocery items -- such as pantry staples, snacks and household essentials -- by drone. Customers can place an order through the "DoorDash Air" section of the DoorDash app and receive their items in as little as 15 minutes. When they check out, users will need to select a delivery spot for the drone to drop off their package. The DoorDash app will ask them to confirm that the drop zone is clear before the user completes the order. The pilot is live in Logan, Australia, where Wing has been testing its services for a few years.

Due to developing regulations in the EU regarding uncrewed aviation regulations, today drone delivery company Wing announced a new service area in Lusk, Ireland that is slated to begin sometime in the coming weeks. Currently, Wing offers drone deliveries in four other cities (Christiansburg, Virginia; Helsinki, Finland; and Logan and Canberra, Australia), with Lusk, Ireland soon to be the fifth. Wing says it chose Ireland as its next area of operation because the country has embraced drone technology and looks to be a "great incubator for future innovations." The company claims it's using existing partnerships and approvals granted in Finland to support its operation in Ireland including recognition from the IAA (Irish Aviation Authority). The company says it hopes to use Lusk as a testbed to expand its European operations and gain more experience when it comes to integrating its service into the local community.

Tech companies, retailers and real-estate firms working on ways to alleviate the strain of constant delivery on urban environments envision an alternate scenario: skies filled with zipping delivery drones and floating dirigible warehouses, streets and sidewalks teeming with as many robots as people, familiar storefronts serving as automated stockrooms for online fulfillment. A look at how innovation and technology are transforming the way we live, work and play. The e-commerce process, from order to fulfillment, will gradually move toward total automation, says David Wilson, chief executive of machinery company Columbus McKinnon, which uses robotic components in warehouse lifting equipment. "The vehicle that pulls up is an autonomously driven vehicle. The unpacking is done with vision technology and robotic equipment. The movement of equipment to automated storage and retrieval systems is done via mobile robots," Mr. Wilson says, describing the warehouse of the future.

Products delivered through other Wing customers, including ice cream from Blue Bell Creameries, first-aid kits from Texas Health Resources and pet prescriptions from easyvet veterinary clinics, will be handled at a staging area at a mixed-use development in Frisco, Texas, by Wing employees. Over time, Wing plans to have customers operate their own drone deliveries. Wing said deliveries will be limited to "tens of thousands of suburban homes" in Frisco and Little Elm for now. "This third-party delivery model will give businesses the ability to reach their customers in faster and cheaper ways than ever before," said Alexa Dennett, head of communications for Wing. Wing also operates commercial drone services in Christiansburg, Va., Finland and Australia.

Wing this morning announced that it is adding Texas to its list of drone delivery markets. On April 7, the Alphabet-owned operation will be arriving in Frisco and Little Elm, a pair of towns in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex. The primary partner is Walgreens, where drones will be picking up health and wellness products. Also on the list is easyvet for pet meds, Texas Health, which provides first aid kits, and Blue Bell Creameries, which is dropping off ice cream as summer looms. Upon launch, the offerings will be available to select customers via invite.

The use of delivery services is an increasing trend worldwide, further enhanced by the COVID pandemic. In this context, drone delivery systems are of great interest as they may allow for faster and cheaper deliveries. This paper presents a navigation system that makes feasible the delivery of parcels with autonomous drones. The system generates a path between a start and a final point and controls the drone to follow this path based on its localization obtained through GPS, 9DoF IMU, and barometer. In the landing phase, information of poses estimated by a marker (ArUco) detection technique using a camera, ultra-wideband (UWB) devices, and the drone's software estimation are merged by utilizing an Extended Kalman Filter algorithm to improve the landing precision. A vector field-based method controls the drone to follow the desired path smoothly, reducing vibrations or harsh movements that could harm the transported parcel. Real experiments validate the delivery strategy and allow to evaluate the performance of the adopted techniques. Preliminary results state the viability of our proposal for autonomous drone delivery.

Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com. Girl Scouts in Virginia are going high tech when it comes to delivering their seasonal cookies. According to Google's drone delivery company Wing, a local troop in the town of Christiansburg has been using its service to test cookie dispatch. Girl Scouts Alice Goerlich (right) and Gracie Walker (left) pose with a Wing delivery drone in Christiansburg, Va. on April 14, 2021.