About 3 years ago I came across an advert for Amazon Prime that featured drone delivery. When I shared this with my students, I was laughed at. It will never work, they claimed — no security, no way the technology was real, and absolutely no way the authorities would allow it to happen. Three years later, the idea of drone delivery has come a long way. Uber Elevate has just started trialling food delivery by drone and Google has received clearance from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to make unmanned deliveries within Virginia. While gimmicky in some ways, there are social benefits in having food delivered to people who are housebound.
Making use of existing technology to solve a problem is often a fundamental requirement for a profitable business venture. Over the next 4 years, the food delivery sector is set to grow by 12%, and companies such as Amazon, Google and Uber want a part of the action. Uber (which has already shown an aptitude for disrupting existing industries) is testing drone delivery in San Diego. At this stage the idea is that fast food will be transported via drone to designated landing zones and then regular couriers take over from there.
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