Flytrex, a Tel Aviv, Israel-based drone delivery startup, announced today that it will be expanding its service in Fayetteville, North Carolina, after receiving approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). According to a press release sent to The Spoon, the FAA granted a waiver to Flytrex that allows the company to operate its drones above people, clearing the way for delivery of food, drinks and other goods directly to consumers’ backyards.
Drone operations will be conducted in cooperation with Causey Aviation Unmanned, and those interested in getting a latte delivered by drone will need to download the Flytrex app to place their order with participating restaurants and stores. Once fulfilled, the order is flown to the customer’s backyard where the drone hovers in the air and lowers the payload down to the ground by wire. Flytrex drones can carry a 6.5 pound payload up to 40 mph with a range of six miles.
Walmart has been part of Flytrex’s Fayetteville program since September of last year, offering drone delivery of select groceries and household goods. With today’s announcement, the number of homes in Fayetteville eligible for on-demand drone delivery from Walmart will expand, though more specifics were not provided.
It’s said that change happens slowly and then all at once. We appear to be on the cusp of the “all at once” part of that timeline as drone delivery is fast becoming a reality for consumers around the world. Over in Galway, Ireland, Manna has been doing 50 – 100 drone deliveries a day. Here in the U.S., Kroger announced a drone delivery pilot with Drone Express in Centerville, Ohio this Spring.
One of the potentially big advantages of drone delivery is speed. By flying above roads and traffic, drones can deliver hot coffee and restaurant meals in a manner of minutes. The food doesn’t spend as much time traveling and arrives hot. This means that drone companies can operate more deliveries per hour than a traditional third-party delivery driver (and that a full-sized car isn’t hauling a single cup of coffee). Manna says that a single drone operator can do 20 deliveries per hour.
For its part, Walmart seems to be getting serious about drones. The Arkansas Democrat Gazette posted a picture today of a drone launchpad being built by Walmart in Pea Ridge, Arkansas, just 11 miles from the company’s headquarters in Bentonville.
We had an entire panel devoted to the present and future of drone delivery with Manna CEO, Bobby Healy, and Valqari CEO, Ryan Walsh at our ArticulATE food robotics and automation conference last week. You can watch the full video of it and all of the day’s sessions by becoming a Spoon Plus member.
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