It’s one of the most popular food delivery services, and now Uber Eats has announced that it is launching drone deliveries.
The tech giant announced the new service at its Uber Elevate 2019 Summit in Washington DC today.
Luke Fischer, Head of Flight Operations at Uber Elevate, said: “We’ve been working closely with the FAA [Federal Aviation Administration] to ensure that we’re meeting requirements and prioritising safety.
“From there, our goal is to expand Uber Eats drone delivery so we can provide more options to more people at the tap of a button.
“We believe that Uber is uniquely positioned to take on this challenge as we’re able to leverage the Uber Eats network of restaurant partners and delivery partners as well as the aviation experience and technology of Uber Elevate.”
The drone delivery service is powered by Elevate Cloud Systems - Uber’s new airspace management system that tracks and guides drones as they take off, fly and land.
After a restaurant loads the order into a drone and it takes off, the Elevate Cloud System will notify a nearby Uber Eats delivery partner to meet the drone at the drop-off location.
The delivery partner will then hand-deliver the order to the customer.
However, in the future, Uber claims that drones could land on top of parked vehicles near the delivery location, and the delivery partner would simply deliver it to the door.
Uber hopes that the new system will ‘expand customers’ culinary options and decrease delivery times’ - although it remains clear how much time will be saved.
Initially, the system will be tested in San Diego with McDonald’s, but will soon be expanded to included additional restaurants.
It remains unclear when Uber plans to roll the drone-delivery system out globally.
