The next time you order a takeaway, it might be flown directly to your door.
Today, Deliveroo has launched its first drone delivery service for customers in Ireland.
Drones travelling at speeds of up to 50 miles per hour (80 kph) will carry food from restaurants to customers in as little as three minutes.
Upon arrival, the drone will hover above the customer’s home and gently lower the food to the ground on a tether before returning to the delivery hub.
Launching in Blanchardstown, on the outskirts of Dublin, the trial will cover a 1.8-mile (3km) radius, reaching up to 150,000 people.
The weeks-long trial will be used to assess whether drone services are a good option for suburban and hard-to-reach areas.
Currently, drone delivery will only be available for select local restaurants, but Deliveroo hopes to offer grocery and retail deliveries within the next six months.
Carlo Mocci, Chief Business Officer at Deliveroo says: ‘Our mission is to bring local neighbourhood favourites to as many people’s doors as possible, and constantly raise the bar on the experience and service we provide – so I’m thrilled to launch drone deliveries in Dublin today.’
Deliveroo has launched drone delivery services in Ireland, bringing takeaways from restaurants to customers’ doors by air
In order to get food delivered by a drone, customers in the eligible radius will first need to validate their address via the app to confirm a suitable location for drop-off.
This will need to be an open area without any overhead obstructions such as a driveway or garden.
Once the order is placed, customers will be able to track their delivery as usual and will be notified once the drone is nearby so they can collect the order.
The company says there will be no additional fees for either the partner restaurants or customers using drone options and Deliveroo Plus members will still be eligible for free delivery while using the service.
The drone services themselves will be provided by Manna, an Irish drone delivery startup founded in 2018.
Since securing regulatory approval, Manna has already made 170,000 delivery flights in the trial area and has partnerships with rival food delivery firms Just Eat and Doordash.
Each drone weighs 23kg and has room for 4kg of cargo, enough to carry four large takeaway pizzas with room to spare.
Although the drones have eight propellers powered by aerospace-grade motors, Manna says that they can safely fly with just four in case of an emergency.
Customers must first register their address to identify a safe delivery location. Once overhead, the drone will gently lower the customers’ food on a tether
The drones will be provided by drone delivery startup Manna. They are capable of travelling up to 50 miles per hour (80 kmph), reaching customers in as little as three minutes
The drones are also equipped with a number of other safety features including backup systems and a parachute.
The drones are launched from a delivery hub where Manna employees charge the drones and load the customer’s orders ahead of launch.
Once the drones set off, they fly autonomously to the customer’s address but are monitored by a dispatcher throughout the flight.
When the drone reaches the agreed drop-off location, the dispatcher uses the onboard cameras to ensure the ground is clear of people or cars before dropping the delivery.
According to Deliveroo, switching from cars and bikes to drones will allow their deliveries to avoid congestion on the ground.
That should make deliveries faster and more energy efficient, especially in suburban areas where delivery is more time-consuming.
In the future, Deliveroo says it would like to expand this service to other markets such as the UK, but this will depend on regulations.
Currently, drones in the UK can’t be flown beyond their operator’s line of sight – making autonomous delivery services impossible.
The drone delivery service will initially be available in a 1.8-mile (3km) radius around Blanchardstown, on the outskirts of Dublin, reaching up to 150,000 people.
This comes after Amazon revealed that Darlington, County Durham will be the first UK town to see parcels delivered by drone as part of a trial of Amazon Prime Air. However, the UK still lacks regulation that allows drones to fly safely beyond their operator’s line of sight
However, the government recently announced a £20 million investment in commercial drone technology alongside the promise of regulatory reform.
New rules could support the launch of flying taxis in the UK by 2028 with legislation for beyond-line-of-sight drones coming as soon as 2026.
While the initial rules are only expected to cover exceptional areas such as open water, this has raised hopes for more drone delivery options in the UK.
Last month, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said that easier drone delivery trials would be one of 60 measures intended to reduce bureaucracy.
Recently, Amazon revealed that Darlington, County Durham will be the first UK town to see parcels delivered by drone as part of a trial of Amazon Prime Air.
However, the Civil Aviation Authority has still to come up with rules on how commercial drones can safely be used for deliveries.
Amazon acknowledged there was still much work to do but said it was ‘ready and excited’.
‘We have built safe and reliable drone delivery services elsewhere in the world in close relationship with regulators and the communities we serve, and we are working to do the same in the UK,’ it said in a statement.
E-COMMERCE FIRMS ARE USING DRONES FOR DELIVERIES
Delivery firms are pioneering a host of new technologies to tackle the last mile of deliveries.
It is hoped the vehicles can cut the inefficiencies, and hence costs, of the final stage of delivery, in which packages are taken from a central hub to your door.
Amazon envisions making last mile deliveries with an army of autonomous drones that drop packages on your doorstep.
Amazon has billed the service ‘Prime Air’ and claims the drones will increase the overall safety and efficiency of its transport system.
Amazon envisions making last mile deliveries with an army of autonomous drones (pictured) that drop packages on your doorstep. It has billed the service ‘Prime Air’
Just one pilot could oversee several of the drones at once, meaning the firm could someday pay fewer people to make the same number of deliveries.
Another company, Starship Technologies, envisions its autonomous delivery service using land-based robots.
Each six-wheeled ‘ground drone’ is almost completely self-driving, and is constantly connected to the internet, using GPS to find its destination.
Walking on the pavement at about 4mph (3km/h), robots can complete local deliveries within five to 30 minutes from a local hub or retail outlet.
Self-driving cars are another last mile option being considered by some delivery companies.
Another company, Starship Technologies, envisions its autonomous delivery service using land-based robots (pictured)
Supermarket operator Kroger is testing a fleet of self-driving grocery cars that can carry as many as ten bags of shopping to your door.
Customers can order groceries via Kroger’s website or mobile app and select same-day or next-day delivery.
Customers who take advantage of Kroger’s driverless grocery delivery system will still have to walk to the curb outside their house to retrieve the groceries.
