As drones have become increasingly common in recreational and military use, tech enthusiasts have yearned for their use in package delivery. After all, who wouldn’t want a pizza flown to their skyscraper balcony?
But like other buzzword innovations, such as autonomous vehicles or cryptocurrency, the commercial use of delivery drones is not imminent. While the technology is getting there, government approvals are not—which is what usually hinders this sort of thing.
While “parcel-carrying drones haven’t filled the skies just yet,” writes Supply Chain Dive, they are broadly feasible for last-mile delivery work already.
Firms like Flytrex and Amazon’s “Prime Air” subsidiary have conducted successful test runs. Amazon recently received FAA authorization to fly on a test site, and hopes in the future to provide 30-minute maximum delivery times on at least some items.
Flytrex specifically focuses on small goods, such as food deliveries. FedEx, Walmart, and Domino’s Pizza are experimenting with drone deliveries.
