Boom Time for Aerial Deliveries!
Delivery service DoorDash takes to the skies with drone deliveries being introduced
Hey there! Uber, who's known for ridin' in your car, is hoppin' into the sky with its latest move. They're dippin' their toes in the robotics pool, expandin' food delivery services on the East Coast with some high-flying technology.
Say goodbye to your usual bike-riding delivery person! Your next order from DoorDash might come directly from the heavens!
In recent years, companies like Walmart have taken drone delivery to new heights, aiming to outrun the competition and grab more market share. Now, drone companies are setting their sights on a juicy target: food delivery services.
The drone delivery company Flytrex teamed up with DoorDash to launch a sky-high delivery service in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas. Over 30,000 households (and that's over 100,000 residents!), can now order from multiple restaurants, including Papa John's, straight from the DoorDash app and get their grub delivered drone-style. This setup marks a first in the industry!
DoorDash’s drone operating hours will stretch from 8 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., and they have the muscle to carry a family-sized meal or up to 6.6 pounds of food. Future drone models will increase capacity to 8.8 pounds.
Flytrex drones can whizz through the sky at impressive speeds of 32 mph, making sure your food gets to you in under five scrumptious minutes! They can also travel approximately five miles round trip.
Yariv Bash, CEO of Flytrex, shares that their increased operational capabilities are the key to drone delivery becoming a mainstream option rather than a niche service. Bash believes we'll be witnessing a future where a sizable chunk of suburban food orders will be arriving by air, and it's not a question of if, but when.
Flytrex has been partnering with retailers and restaurants since its inception in 2013 for on-demand drone food delivery. They have already completed over 200,000 deliveries across Texas and North Carolina.
This partnership bloomed from DoorDash Labs, which is DoorDash’s robotics and automation division. Their mission? Identifying and integrating autonomous solutions to enhance the customer experience, boost demand for local merchants, and create more earning opportunities for Dasherettes and Dashers, which is the company’s term for delivery workers.
Harrison Shih, DoorDash Labs head of product, explained that the next phase of drone delivery is all about convenience, driven by expanded capabilities that unlock a broader range of use cases. Shih emphasized that with larger payloads and longer operating hours, they’re able to serve more customers, more efficiently, than ever before.
Earlier this month, Walmart announced they expanded their drone delivery service with Google’s Wing to launch at 100 stores in Atlanta, Charlotte, Houston, Orlando, and Tampa. Walmart says it's the first to scale this service across five states, highlighting its ambition to take the lead in tech-enabled retail.
Meanwhile, Amazon customers within the delivery range in College Station, Texas, and the West Valley of the Phoenix metro area can get their hands on the company's one-hour drone delivery service. Amazon claims its technology can deliver one package, up to five pounds, in less than an hour.
In the future, due to advancements in technology, the economy might see an increase in profits as drone delivery services, such as those offered by Flytrex, become a mainstream option for food delivery. As more companies begin to invest in gadgets like drones for credit-based transactions, the market for aerial deliveries could potentially grow significantly.
