Pizza chain Domino's has delivered a pizza by drone for the first time. In the New Zealand town of Whangaparaoa, north of Auckland, the drone flew at about 20 kilometres per hour to deliver the pizza.
For the delivery, Domino's used a device from Flirtey, which uses GPS via data from Google Maps. The pizza is placed at the customer's doorstep via a cable. This eliminates the need for the drone to land and, at a height of 60 metres, allows it to fly back to Domino's for the next order.
Local authorities have given permission for the drone delivery .More flights in New Zealand will follow this week. In many other countries, drone delivery is not yet allowed. It is hoped that the rules will be more lenient next year, when Domino's pizza plans to deliver pizzas by drone more often. Drone developer Flirtey is currently in talks with European regulators to that end.
DRU delivery robot
Domino's introduced delivery robot DRU (Domino's Robotic Unit) earlier this year. This robot delivers pizzas at a speed of 20 kilometres per hour and also uses GPS and Google Maps, while the compartment inside the robot keeps the pizzas warm. Once it arrives at the address, the customer can open the compartment using the code received via SMS. The robot cannot take to the streets at present. The prototype is mainly intended to show consumers what possibilities await them in the future.
Editorial LogistiekProfs
