What just a few years ago seemed like something out of a science fiction movie has now quietly arrived in the everyday American experience. Uber and Zipline have announced a strategic partnership that will finally deploy autonomous drone delivery services to millions of customers using the Uber Eats app. Initial flights will begin later this year, initially in markets where Zipline already operates and will then expand to dozens of markets across the country. The pair has set an aggressive target-1 million drone deliveries every day by the end of 2029.
Zipline has been refining the process of delivering a package from A to B using air for years. It already makes a delivery every twenty seconds over four continents. Its aircraft have flown more than 135 million autonomous miles to deliver 36,000 shipments, including vital medicines to more than 5,000 hospitals in a matter of minutes not hours.
Now that tried and tested system is on the verge of being opened up to normal items ordered daily, from late-night munchies to a weekly shop and pharmacy. Uber completes the other half of the equation. The company is already linking thousands of individuals through its vast fleet of couriers to nearby restaurants and stores. With the drone in the picture, Uber can pair all of these orders with the most suitable transportation method.
In most instances that mean an unassuming aircraft traveling over traffic, placing an item by using incredible accuracy, and going back to pick up this package. The consumers should be unaware of any change, simply logging onto their Uber Eats app and selecting the drone whenever they are available. No application change, few concerns.
Neither believes that is just an exercise in convenience. “This is not a convenience play”, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said at the launch, “it’s about creating a faster delivery system, more sustainable”. co-founder Keller Cliffton, added poetic justifications like, “teleportation is no longer just the stuff of science fictionit’s becoming a part of daily life”. No doubt Uber’s investment in Zipline suggests long run view not just a short-to-medium term pilot. The monetary sum involved is not public. The technology has also come a long way. Zipline’s once-newer aircraft fly at altitude and then deploy a tiny tethered droid that hovers and drops the parcel exactly where it needs to go.
It is quieter and easier on the rotor wash than a hovering flying near the ground. All of the flights are fully autonomous with high-end obstacle-avoidance systems. The company boasts of having a proven track record after years of global commercial operations, allowing it to get the regulatory clearances to scale up. For restaurants and small local merchants the benefit is immediate. Delivery times that used to take thirty, forty minutes could be reduced to five or ten, and hot food would be served hot and frozen goods like ice cream would not melt. Even fragile merchandise that could not be safely transported by car might now be feasible.
