THIS charming drone is set to shake-up the home delivery market by reaching far more customers while reducing delivery emissions by almost 98 per cent compared to petrol vehicles.
San Francisco-based Zipline has become a major player in a market where the sky is literally the limit but that is still yet to fully take off.
Its latest drone will revolutionise drop-offs and collections from suppliers thanks to its fixed wing and upward-facing propellers that allow it to both fly and hover better. The real Back to the Future bit that will freak customers out when they first see it is its ability to lower a compact ‘droid’ from a height of 330 feet, allowing it to safely deliver packages to driveways, pavements and back gardens.
After retrieving the droid, which may or may not look like R2-D2, the drone brings it back to its base at the restaurant, warehouse, or shop to recharge. The base is equipped with a dock on either the wall or roof.
When the next order is received via Zipline’s app software, the drone takes the droid and lowers it through a portal integrated into a wall. Workers can then load the droid, close the lid, and send it off to complete the delivery.
So simple, so effective. What could possibly go wrong? (ignore trees, birds, curious dogs, thieves, etc).
The drone is due to be ready in 2024 and Zipline believes it could quickly be making millions of deliveries. Unfortunately drone laws will have to catch up rapidly as they are some way behind the technology at the moment.
A number of issues including noise, privacy and safety are weighing projects down but no doubt our American cousins will be leading the drive on this long before the UK catches up.
The tech though has already substantially been in use, particularly in Africa where it is used to deliver medical supplies. Zipline have successfully completed over 500,000 deliveries to date, travelling combined over 36 million miles.
The company is aiming for of 10-mile deliveries in 10 minutes or under, so hopefully it won’t be too long until this technology is in our lives and the doner kebabs can be set free!
